A papist misrepresented and represented:

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1860

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2.
A PAPIST

MISREPRESENTED

REPRESENTED:

OR, A

TWO-FOLD CHARACTER

OF

POPERY:

-at/ 46

The one containing a sum of the superstitions, idolatries,

cruelties, treacheries, and wicked principles laid

to their charge :

The other laying open that religion which those termed

Papists own and proOjss, the chief articles of their

faith, and the principal grounds and reasoiis

which attach them to it.

BY THE REV. JOHN GOTHER.

CINCINNATI:

rUBLISIIED FOR THE CATHOLIC SOCIETY FOR THE
DIFFUSION OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE.

Stercotj-ped I»y Munfort & Conahans.

^^i't:

APPROBATION.

The " Papist Misrepreseiited and Eepre-
sented " published for the " Catholic Society
for the Diffusion of Religious Knowledge"
is an excellent work, and as such I recom-
mend it to the faithful of this diocess.

E. T. COLLINS, V. G.

INTRODUCTION.

The father of lies is the author of mis-
representation. He first made the experi-
ment of this black art in Paradise: having
no surer way of bringing God's precepts
into contempt, and making our parents
transgress, than by misrepresenting the
command which their Maker had laid upon
them. And so unhappily successful was he
in this first attempt, that this has been his
chief stratagem ever since, for maintaining
himself in his usurpation, and propagating
error and vice amongst men, by discrediting
virtue and truth; and therefore there has
nothing of good yet come into the world,
nothing been sent from heaven, but what
has met with this opposition, the common
enemy having employed all his endeavours
to bring it into discredit, and render it
infamous by misrepresenting it. Of this
there are frequent instances in scripture,
and more in church history. The truth
of this was experienced on the person of
Christ himself, who, though he was the Son
of God, the immaculate Lamb, yet was he
not out of the reach of calumny, nor ex-

4 INTRODUCTION.

empt from being misrepresented. See in
the gospel how he was painted by mali-
cious men, the ministers of Satan, as a pro-
fane and wicked man, a breaker of the Sab-
bath, a glutton, a friend and companion of
publicans and sinners, a conjuror, a traitor,
a seducer, a raiser of seditions, a Samari-
tan, and full of the devil: he hath Beelzebub,
said they, and by the prince of the devils
casteth he out devils; (Mark iii. 22.) there
being no other way of frightening the peo-
ple from embracing the truth, and follow-
ing the Son of God, but by thus disfiguring
him to the multitude, reporting light to be
darkness, and God to be the devil. The
disciples of Christ every where met with
the like treatment. The people were stir-
red up against St. Stephen by misrepresen-
tation, because they heard he had spoken
bJasp)e7nous words against Moses and against
God; (Acts vi. 11.) and against Paul, be-
cause they were told he taught all men
every ichere against the people, and polluted
the holy place. (Acts xxi. 23.) They charg-
ed him also with being a pestilent fellow,
and a mover of sedition amongst all the
Jews throughout the world. (Acts xxi v. 5.)
Neither did these calumnies, these wicked
misrepresentations stop here: he that said
the disciple is not above his master, and if
they have called the inaster of the house
Beelzebub, hoiv much more shall they call

INTRODUCTION. 5

iliem of his household? (Matt. x. 21, 25.) did
not only foretel what was to happen to his
followers then present, but also to ihe faith-
ful that were to succeed them, and to his
Church in future ages, they being all to
expect the like treatment; so that though
they should be never so just to God and
their neighbour, upright in their ways, and
live in the fear of God, and the observance
of his laws; yet must they certainly be
reviled and hated by the world, made a
byeword to the people, have the repute of
seducers, and be a scandal to all nations.
And has not this been verified in all ages?
See what was the state of Christians in the
primitive times, when as yet vice had not
corrupted the morals of the generality of the
faithful. It is almost impossible to believe
in what contempt they were, and how ut-
terly abominated. Tcrtullian, who was an
eye-witness, gives us so lamentable an ac-
count of the Christians in his time, that,
were it possible, it would move compassion
in stones. lie tells us so malicious slanders
were dispersed abroad concerning the man-
ner of their worship, and their whole reli-
gion described, not only to be mere folly
and foppery, but also to be grounded on
most hellish principles, and to be so full of
impieties, that the heathens believed a man
could not make profession of Christianity,
without being tainted with all sorts of
1*

0 INTRODUCTION.

crimes; without being an enemy to the
gods, to princes, to the laws, to good man-
ners, and to nature itself. So that Chris-
tianity was wholly infamous amongst the
heathens, condemned and detested by all,
and most bloody persecutions raised against
the professors of it, whilst they were guilty
of no other crime but adhering to the truth.
And it was these calumnies, these false ac-
cusations, invented to cry down the Chris-
tian religion, that obliged Tertullian to
write his Apology, wherein he declared to
the world, that Christianity was nothing
like that which the heathens imagined it
to be; that idolatry, superstition, impiety,
cruelty, treachery, conspiracies, &c.were
none of their doctrine, but condemned and
detested by them; that these crimes were
only the malicious inventions of the hea-
thenish priests, who finding themselves
unable to withstand the force of Christian-
ity, had no other way to preserve them-
selves in repute, and keep the people in
their error than by an ugly, odious, and
most horrible vizor, a damnable scheme of
religion; and then holding this forth to the
world, and crying out, "This is the reli-
gion of Christians: these are their princi-
ples; behold their ignorance, their stupi-
dity, their profaneness; behold their inso-
lence, their villanies, a people insufferable
in a commonwealth, enoinies to their coun-

I

INTRODUCTION. 7

try and their prince:" and thus represent-
ing it as monstrous as they pleased, they
brought an odium upon as many as owned
that name, and condemned them for follies
and crimes that were no where but in their
own imagination. And now, when by the
propagation of Christianity, and the labo-
rious endeavours of its professors, heathen
ism was pretty well extinct; yet was not
the mouth of malice stopped, the calumnies
which had been invented by the infidels, be-
ing taken up by evil Christians; no one go-
ing out from the communion of the Church
of Christ, but what did, by the revival of
old scandals, and the addition of fresh
ones, endeavour to make her infamous, and
blacken her with such crimes as could be
thought most convenient for rendering her
odious to all: it being looked upon by as
many as went out of her, the best means
to justify their separation, and to gain to
themselves the character of orthodox Chris-
tians, to paint her in all the antichristian
colours, and represent her as hellish as
wickedness could make her. It is strange
how much she suffered in this point from
the Manichees, and from the Donatists; and
how much pains it cost St. Augustine to
prove the accusations to be mere calumnies,
principally intended to raise prejudices in
the minds of the people against her; that so
being convinced by these hellish artifices,

8 INTRODUCTION.

of her teaching unsound and profane doc-
trine, wicked principles and human inven-
tions instead of divine faith, they might
never think of going to her to learn the
truth, nor even so much as to suspect her
to be the Church of Christ. This, St. Au-
gustine complains, was the chief cause of
his continuing in the errors of the Manic-
hees so long, and that he impugned with so
much violence this church: and therefore,
after he was come to the knowledge of the
truth, he discovered this to the world, for
the undeceiving of others who were caught
in the same snare; making it a part of his
confessions: — ''When I came to discover
the truth," says he, " I mingled joys and
blushes, and was ashamed that I had now
for so many years been barking and rail
ing, not against the Catholic faith, but only
against the fictions of my carnal conceits.
For so temerarious and impious was I, that
those things which I ought first to have
learned from them by enquiry, I charged
upon them by accusation; readier to impose
falsehood than be informed of the truth. —
And thus I so blindly accused the Catholic
Church, now sufficiently cleared to me, that
she taught not the opinions I so vehemently
persecuted." And this he did, deluded and
deceived by the Manichees. — And now since
it is certain that this has not been the case
of St, Augustine alone, but of as many al-

INTRODUCTION. 9

most as have given ear to the deserters of
this Church; — nay, is at this day the case
of infinite numbers who, following that
great father when as yet in his errors, do
not enquire how this thing is believed or
understood by her, but insultingly oppose
all, as if so understood as they imagine; not
making any difference betwixt that which
the Catholic Church teaches, and what they
think she teaches; and so believing her to
be guilty of as many absurdities, follies,
impieties, &c. as the heathens did of old :
it is evident there is as much need now of
apologies as ever there was in Tertullian's
or St. Augustine's time: not apologies to
vindicate what is really her faith and doc-
trine, but rather to clear her from such
superstitions, profaneness, and wicked prin-
ciples, as are maliciously or ignorantly
charged upon her. And though the num-
ber of calumnies, the insincerity of adver-
saries, the obstinacy of a biassed education,
render a performance in this kind a just
task for a Tertullian's or St. Augustine's
hand; yet because I find no such eminent
pen engaged in this design at present, and
the shewing the true religion in its own
colours, seems a duty incumbent on every
one that is a lover of truth; I will endea-
vour to pull off the vizor from suffering
Christianity, and apologise for the Catholic
Faith; that faith 1 mean maintained by the

10 INTRODUCTION.

primitive fathers with so much vigour and
zeal, which being planted in the head city
of the world by St. Peter, hath been propa-
gated throughout the universe, and derived
down to us by many Christian nations in
communion with that See, under the pro-
tection of the Holy Ghost, and the charge
of a chief pastor, which beginning in that
great apostle, has continued in a visible
succession to these our days. This faith it
is for which at present I design to make
an apology, which having been in all ages
violently opposed, does at this time most
wrongfully suffer under calumnies and false
imputations. I will endeavour therefore to
separate these calumnies and scandals from
what is really the faith and doctrine of that
church; I will take off the black and dirt
which have been thrown upon her, and set-
ting her forth in her genuine complexion,
let the world see how much fairer she is
than she is painted; and how much she is
unlike that monster which is showed for
her. And because the members of this
church are commonly known by the name
of Papists, I think I cannot take a more
sincere, open, and compendious way, in or-
der to the completing of this design, than
by drawing a double character of a Papist;
the one expressing a Papist in those very
colours as he is painted in the imaginations
of the vulgar, most foul, black, and anti-

INTRODUCTION. II

christian, with the chief articles of his ima-
gined belief, and imputed pinciples of his
profession : — the other representing a Papist
whose faith and exercise of religion are ac-
cording to the direction and command of
his Church; that so these two being thus
set together, their difference and dispropor-
tion may be clearly discerned, and a dis-
covery made how unlike calumny is from
truth, and how different a Papist is from
what he is said to be. The former charac-
ter is that of a Papist misrepresented; the
other is that of a Papist represented. — The
former is of a Papist so deformed and mons-
trous, that he justly deserves the hatred of
as many as own Christianity; the other Pa-
pist is one that lives and believes accord-
ing to what is prescribed in the Council of
Trent, in the Catechism set forth by Catho-
lics, and other spiritual books for the direc-
tion of all in their communion, whose faith
and doctrine I have here set down, with
some grounds and reasons of it, and so will
leave it to apologise for itself In draw-
ing out the character of the former I have
quoted no authors, but have described him
exactly according to the apprehension I
had of a Papist, framed by me when I
was a Protestant; with the addition only
of some few points, which liave been vio-
lently charged against me by some intimate
friends of late, to show the unreasonable-

12 INTRODUCTION.

ness of my choice, after the quitting of that
communion. The latter is wholly copied
from the Papist that I am now; being the
sum of what I was taught when reconciled
to the Church of Rome; and which, after
sixteen years conversation with men of
that communion, in hearing their sermons,
in being present at their catechising, in read-
ing their books and discoursing with them,
I have found to be their doctrine. I have
done both, I hope, with sincerity and truth,
and without passion. For as my endea-
vours have been that my religion should
lose nothing by lies, so neither do I desire
that it should gain any thing by them; and
did I but know of any thing in the follow-
ing pages, that has any relation to the anti-
christian artifice, I would strike it out im-
mediately; and do here pledge myself upon
information, either from friend or adver-
sary, to acknowledge the mistake, as it
shall be made appear, and make a public
recantation. — But it is time we should see
what these Papists are.

A PAPIST

MISREPRESENTED AND REPRESENTED.

OF PRAYING TO BIAGES.

A Papist misrepresented worships stocks
and stones for gods : he takes no notice of
the Second Commandment, but setting up
pictures and images of Christ, the Virgin
Mary, and his other Saints, he prays to
them, and puts his trust and confidence in
them; much like as the heathens did in their
wooden gods, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, &c. and
for this reason he erects stately monuments
to them in his churches, adorns them sump-
tuously, burns candles, offers incense, and
frequently falls down prostrate before them,
and with his eyes fixed upon them, cries
out, help me, Mary; assist me, Anthony;
remember me, Ignatius.

A Papist truly represented believes it
damnable to worship stocks and stones for
gods, to pray to pictures or images of
Christ, of the Virgin Mary, or of any other
Saints, to believe any virtue or divinity in

14 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

them, or to put any trust or confidence in
them. He is expressly taught the contrary
to all this by the Council of Trent, {Sess,
25.) and his very children are instructed in
their Catechisms, which are in I he hands
of all, that they must " by no means pray
to pictures or images, because they can
neither see, nor hear, nor help them. See
Abstract of the Douay Catechism^ upon the
first Commandment; Abridgement of the
Christian Doctrine, chap. iv. &c. But what
use then does the Papist make of pictures
or images of Christ, of the blessed Virgin,
or other Saints? Why, he keeps them by
him to preserve in his mind the memory of
the person represented by them,- as people
are wont to preserve the memory of their
deceased friends by keeping their pictures.
He is taught to use them, so as to cast his
eyes upon the pictures or images, and thence
to raise his heart to the things represented,
and there to employ it in meditation, love,
and thanksgiving, desire of imitation, &c.
as the object requires: as many good Chris-
tians, placing a deatWs head before them,
from the sight of it, take occasion to reflect
upon their last end, in order to their better
preparing for it; or by seeing Old Time,
painted with his fore-Jock, hour-glass, and
scythe, turn their thoughts upon the swift-
ness of time, and that whosoever neglects
the present, is in danger of beginning then

AJ^D REPRESENTED. 15

to desire to lay hold of it when there is on
more of it to come. These pictures or ima-
ges have this advantage, that they inform
the mind by one glance, of what in reading
might require a whole chapter; there being
no other difference between them, than that
reading presents leisurely, and by degrees,
and a picture all at once. Hence he finds a
convenience in saying his prayers with
some devout pictures before him, he being
no sooner distracted but the sight of these
recall his wandering thoughts to the right
object; and as certainly brings something
good into his mind, as an immodest pic-
ture disturbs his heart with filthy thoughts-
And because he is sensible that these holy
pictures and images, represent and bring to
his mind such objects as in his heart he
loves, honours, and venerates, he cannot
but on that account love, honour, and re-
spect the images themselves; as whosoever
loves their husband, child, or friend, cannot
but have some love and respect for their
pictures: whosoever loves and honours his
king, will have some honour and regard for
his image. Not that he venerates any im-
age or picture, for any virtue or divinity
believed to be in them, or for any thing
that is to be petitioned of them; but because
the honour that is exhibited to them is re-
ferred to those whom they represent. — So
that it is not properly the image he honours,

16 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

but Christ and his saints by the images: as
it is not properly the images or pictures of
kings or other men that we respect or in-
jure; but by their images or pictures we
respect or injure the persons themselves.
All the veneration therefore he expresses
before all images, whether by kneeling,
lifting up the eyes, burning candles, in-
cense, &c. is not at all done for the image,
but is wholly referred to the things repre-
sented, which he intends to honour by these
actions: and how by so doing he breaks the
second Commandment, he cannot conceive,
for he acknowledges only one God, and to
him alone gives sovereign honour; and
whatsoever respect he shews to a crucifix,
picture, or image, seems to him no more
injurious to any of the Commandments than
it is for a Christian to love and honour his
neighbour, because he bears the image of
God in his soul; to kiss and esteem the
Bible, because it contains and represents to
him God^s word; or to love a good preach-
er, because he reminds him of his duty; all
which respects do not at all derogate from
God Almighty's honour, but are rather tes-
timonies of our great love and honour of
him, since, for his sake, we love and esteem
every thing that has any respect or relation
to him.

AND REPRESENTED. 17

OF WORSHIPPING SAINTS.

The Papist misrepresented makes gods of
dead men: such as are departed hence, and
are now no more able to hear, or see, or
understand his necessities. And though
God he so good as to invite all to come to
him, and to apply themselves to their only
and infinite Mediator Jesus Christ,* yet so
stupid is he, that neglecting, and, as it were,
passing by both God and his own Son, and
all their mercies, he betakes himself to his
Saints, and there pouring forth his prayers,
he considers them as his mediators and re-
deemers, and expects no blessing but what
is to come to him by their merits, and
through their hands; and thus, without
scruple or remorse, he robs God of his
honour.

The Papist, truly represented^ believes
there is only one God, and that it is a most
damnable idolatry to make gods of men
either living or dead. His church teaches
him indeed, (and ho believes,) that it is good
and profitable to desire the intercession of
Saints reigning with Christ in heaven: but
that they arc gods, or his redeemers, he is
no where taught; but detests all such doc-
trine. He confesses that we arc all re-
deemed by th.e blood of Christ alone, and
that he is our only Mediator of redemption:

18

A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

but as for mediators of intercession, (that is,
such as we may lawfully desire to pray for
us) he does not doubt but it is acceptable to
God we should have many. Moses was such
a mediator for the Israelites; Job for his
three friends; Stephen for his persecutors.
The Romans were thus desired by St. Paul
to be his mediators; so were the Corinthi-
ans; so the Ephesians; Ep. ad Roju. Cor,
Eph. So almost every sick man desires the
congregation to be his mediators by remem-
bering him in their prayers. And so the
Papist desires the blessed in heaven to be
his mediators; that is, that they would pray
to God for him. And in this, he does not at
all neglect coming to God, or rob him of his
honour; but directing all his prayers up to
him, and making him the ultimate object of
all his petitions, he only desires sometimes
the just on earth, sometimes those in heaven,
to join their prayers to his, that so the num-
ber of petitioners being increased, the peti-
tion may find better acceptance in the sight
of God. And this is not to make them gods,
but only petitioners to God; it is not to make
them his redeemers, but only intercessors
to his Redeemer, he having no hope of ob-
taining any thing but of God alone, by and
through the merits of Christ; for which he
desires the Saints in heaven, and good men
upon earth, to offer up their prayers with
his; the prayers of the just availing much

AND REPRESENTED. 19

before God. But now, how the saints in
heaven know the prayers and necessities
of those who address themselves to them,
whether by the ministry of angels, or in
the vision of God, or by some particular
revelation, it is no part of his faith, nor is
it much his concern that it should be deter-
mined. For his part he does not doubt, but
that God, who acquainted the prophets with
the knowledge of things that were yet to
come many hundred years after; that in-
formed Elisha of the king of Syria's coun-
cils, though privately resolved on in his
bed-chamber, and at a distance, (2 Kings,
vi. 12.) can never want means of letting the
saints know the desires of those who beg
their intercession here on earth; especially
since our Saviour informs us, (Luke xiv.)
that Abraham heard the petition of Dives,
who was yet at a greater distance, even in
hell; and told him likewise the manner of
his living, while as yet on earth. Nay,
since it is generally allowed, that even the
very devils hear those desperate wretches
who call on them, why should we doubt that
the Saints want this privilege, who, though
departed this life, are not so properly dead,
as translated from a mortal life to an im-
mortal one, where enjoying God Almighty,
they lose no perfections which they enjoyed
while on earth, but possess all in a more
eminent manner, having more charity, more

20 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

knowledge, more interest with God than
ever, and becoming like angels. — {Luke xx.
36.) And as these offered up their prayers
for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, {Zech.
i. 12.) so undoubtedly they likewise fall
down before the Lamb, having every one of
them harps, and golden vials full of odours,
which are the prayers of the saints, Apoc. v. 8.

OF ADDRESSING MORE SUPPLICATIONS TO THE
VIRGIN MARY THAN TO CHRIST.

The Papist misrepresented believes the
Virgin Mary to be much more powerful in
heaven than Christ, and that she can com-
mand him to do what she thinks good: and
for this he honours her much more than he
does her Son, or God the Father; for one
prayer he says to God, saying ten to the
holy Virgin.

The Papist truly represented believes it
damnable to think the Virgin Mary more
powerful in heaven than Christ; or that she
can in any thing command him. He hon-
ours her indeed, as one that was chosen the
mother of God, and blessed amongst all
women; and believes her to be most accep-
table to God in her intercession for us, but
owning her still as a creature, and that all
she has of excellency is the gift of God, pro-
ceeding from his mere goodness. Neither

AND PwEPRESENTEB. 21

does he at any time say even so much as
one prayer to her, but what is directed more
particularly to God, because offered up as a
thankful memorial of Christ's incarnation,
and acknowledgement of the blessedness of
Jesus the fruit of her womb; and this with-
out imagining there is any more dishonour-
ing of God in his reciting the Angelical
Salutation, than in the first pronouncing it
by the Angel Gabriel and Elizabeth; or
that his frequent repetition of it is any
more an idle superstition than it was in
David to repeat the same words over twen-
ty-six times in the 126th psalm.

OF PAYING DIVINE V^ORSHIP TO RELICS.

The Papist misrepresented believes a kind
of divinity to remain in the relics of his
reputed sauits, and therefore adores their
rotten bones, their corrupted flesh, their old
rags, with divine honour, kneeling down to
them, kissing them, and going in pilgrim-
age to their shrines and sepulchres. And
he is so far possessed with a conceited deity
lying in those senseless remains, that he
foolishly believes they work great miracles,
and raise more to life than ever Christ
himself did.

The Papist truly represented believes it
damnable to think there is any divinity in

22 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

the relics of saints, or to adore them with
divine honour, or to pray to their rotten
bones, old rags, or shrines, or that they can
work any strange cures or miracles by any
hidden power of their own. But he be-
lieves it good and lawful to keep them with
veneration, and to give them a religious
honour and respect. And this he thinks
due to them, inasmuch as knowing himself
obliged to respect and honour God Almighty
from his heart, he looks upon himself as
obliged to respect and honour every thing
that has any particular relation to him, but
this with an inferior honour, such as the
Jews showed to the Ark, to the Tables of
the Law, to Moses's rod, to the Temple, to
the Priest. Such as we generally allow
the Bible, because it contains God's word;
to the Church, because it is God's house; to
holy men and priests, because they are
God's servants. And so he does to relics,
because they appertain to God's favourites;
and being insensible things, are yet sen-
sible pledges, and lively memorials of
Christ's servants, dead indeed to this w^orld,
but alive with him in glory. And more
especially because God himself has been
pleased to honour them, by making them in-
struments of many evident miracles which
he has visibly worked by them, as is evi-
dent upon undeniable record. And this he
believes as easy fur God Almighty now.

AND RJEPRESENTED. 23

and as much redounding to the honour of
his holy name, as in the old law, to work
such miraculous effects by Moses's rod, by
Elias's mantle, after he was taken up into
heaven, (2 Kings ii. 14.) Eliseus's bones,
(2 Kings xiii. 21.) and infinite other such
insensible things; and also in the new law,
by the hem of his own garment, (Matt. ix.
22.) by the shadow of St. Peter, (Acts v.
12.) by the napkin and handkerchiefs that
had but touched the body of St. Paul, cast-
ing out devils, and curing diseases, (Acts
xix. 22.) and such like. And thus by hav-
ing a veneration and respect for these, he
honours God, and does not doubt, but that
they that contemn and profane these do the
like to God, as much as they did who pro-
faned the bread of propitiation, the temple,
and vessels that belonged to it.

OF THE EUCHARIST.

The Papist misrepresented believes it law-
ful to commit idolatry, and makes it his dai-
ly practice to worship and adore a broaden
god, giving divine honour to those poor,
empty elements of bread and wine. Of
these he asks pardon for his sins; of these
he desires grace and salvation; these he ac-
knowledges to have been his redeemer and
saviour, and hopes for no good but what is
to come to him by means of these liousc-

24 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

bold gods. And then, for his apology he
alleges such gross contradictions, so con-
trary to all sense and reason, that whoso-
ever will be a Papist, must be no man;
fondly believing that what he adores is no
bread or wine, but Christ really present
under those appearances; and he makes as
many Christs, as many Redeemers, as there
are churches, altars, or priests. When ac-
cording to God's infallible word there is but
one Christ, and he not on earth, but at the
right hand of his Father in heaven.

The Papist truly rejjreseiited believes it
abominable to commit any kind of idolatry,
and most damnable to worship or adore a
breaden god, or to give divine honour to
the elements of bread and wine. He wor-
ships only one God, who made heaven and
earth, and his only Son Jesus Christ our
Redeemer, who being in all things equal
to his Father in truth and omnipotency,
he believes made his words good pro-
nounced at his last supper, really giving
his body and blood to his apostles, the spe-
cies or accidents of bread and wine remain-
ing as before. The same ho believes of
the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist,
consecrated now by priests, that it really
contains the body of Christ, which was de-
livered for us, and his blood, which was
shed for the remission of sins; which being

AND REPRESENTED. 25

there united with the divinity, he confesses
whole Christ to be present. And him he
adores and acknowledges his Redeemer,
and not any bread or wine. And for the
believing of this mystery, he does not at all
think it meet for any Christian to appeal
from Christ's word to his own senses or
reason, for the examining the truth of what
he has said, but rather to submit his senses
and reason to Christ's words in the obse-
quiousness of faith; and that being the son
of Abraham, it is more becoming him to
believe as Abraham did, promptly, with a
faith superior to all sense or reason, and
whither these could never lead him. With
this faith it is he believes every mystery
of his religion, the Trinity, Incarnation, &c
With this faith he believes that what de-
scended upon our Saviour at his baptism in
Jordan, was really the Holy Ghost though
senses or reason could discover it to be no-
thing but a dove. With this faith he believes
that the man that Joshua saw standing over
against him with his sword drawn, {Joshua
v. 13.) and the three men that Abraham
entertained in the plains of IMambre, (Gen.
xviii.) were really and substantially no
men; — and that notwithstanding all the in-
formation and evidence of sense, from their
colour, features, proportion, talking, eating,
&c. of their being men, yet, without any
discredit to his senses, he really believer
3

26 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

they were no such thing, because God's
word has assured him of the contrary.
And with this faith he believes Christ's body
and blood to be really present in the bless-
ed sacrament, though, to all outward ap-
pearance, there is nothing more than bread
and wine: thus, not at all hearkening to his
senses in a matter where God speaks, he
unfeignedly confesses, that he who made
the world out of nothing by his sole word,
that cured diseases by his word, that raised
the dead by his word, that commanded the
winds and the seas, that multiplied bread,
that changed water into wine by his word,
and sinners into just men, cannot want
power to change bread and wine into his
own body and blood by his sole word. And
this without danger of multiplying his body,
of making as many Christs as altars, or
leaving the right hand of his Father; but
only by giving to his body a supernatural
manner of existence, by which, being with-
out extension of parts, rendered indepen-
dent of place, it may be one and the same
in many places at once, and whole in every
part of the symbols, and not obnoxious to
any corporal contingencies. And this kind
of existence is no more than what in a man-
ner he bestows upon every glorified body;
than what his own body had, when born
without the least violation of his mother's
virginal integrity; when he arose from the

AND REPRESENTED. 27

dead, out of the sepulchre, without remov-
ing the stone; when he entered amongst his
disciples, the doors being shut. And though
he cannot understand how this is done, yet
,he undoubtedly believes that God is able to
do more than he is able to understand.

OF MERITS AND GOOD WORKS.

The Papist misrepresented believes Christ's
death and passion to be ineffectual and insig-
nificant, and that he has no dependence upon
the merits of his sufferings, or the mercy
of God for obtaining salvation, but that
he is to be saved by his own merits. And,
for this reason, he is very zealously busy
in fasting, in watching, in going in proces-
sion, in wearing hair-shirts, and using a
thousand such like mortifications; and hav-
ing done this, he thinks himself not at all
beholden to God for his salvation, and that
to give him heaven will be no favour; it
being now his due, upon the account of his
meritorious achievements, without any of
God's mercy through Christ's passion or
his Maker's goodness.

The Papist Iruhj represented believes it
damnable to say that Christ's death and
passion are ineflcctual and insignificant, and
that it is the doctrine of devils to believe
that he has no dcpendance for his salvation

28 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

upon the merits of Christ's sufferings, or
the mercy of God; but only upon his own
merits and good works. It is his faith to
believe that of ourselves we are not suffi-
cient so much as to think a good thought;
that the grace by which we are justified is
given us purely gratis, upon the account of
Christ's merits: moreover, that no man, how
just soever, can merit any thing either in
this life or in that to come, independent of
the merits and passion of Jesus Christ;
nevertheless, that through the merits of
Christ, the good works of a just man pro-
ceeding from grace, are so acceptable to
God, that through his goodness and promise
they are truly meritorious of eternal life;
and this he has learned from the apostle,
(2 Tim. iv. 8.) where he is taught that there
is a crown of justice, which our Lord, a
just judge, will render at the last day; not
only to St. Paul, but also to all those that
shall have fought a good fight, and consum-
mated their course, kept ^:he faith, and loved
his coming; knowing, therefore, that at the
day of judgment he is to receive according
to his works J he endeavours by good works
to make his vocation and election sure, (2
Peter i. 10.) and in following this counsel,
he thinks he no more offends against the
fullness of the merits of Christ or God's
mercy, than the apostle does in giving it.

AND REPRESENTED. 29

OF CONFESSION.

The Papist misrepresented believes it part
of his religion to make gods of men, fool-
ishly thinking they have power to forgive
sins. And therefore as often as he finds
his conscience oppressed with the guilt of
his offences, he calls for one of his priests,
and having run over a catalogue of his sins,
he asks of him pardon and forgiveness; and
what is most absurd of all, he is so stupid
as to believe that if his ghostly Father,
after he has heard all his villanies in his
ear, does but pronounce three or four Latin
words over his head, his sins are forgiven
him, although he had never any thoughts
of amendment, or intention to forsake his
wickedness.

The Papist truly represented believes it
damnable in any religion to make gods of
men. However, he firmly holds, that when
Christ speaking to his apostles, said, {John
XX. 22.) receive ye the Holy Ghost ^ lohose
sins you shall forgive, they are forgive?!,
and ivhose si7is you shall retain, they are
retained; he gave them and their succces-
sors, the bisliops and priests of the Catho-
lic Church, autiiority to absolve any truly
penitent shiner from his sin. And God
having thus given them the ministry of re-
conciliation, and made them Christ^s legates,

30 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

(2 Cor. V. 18, 19, 20) Christ's ministers,
and the dispensers of the mysteries of Christ,
(1 Cor. iv.) and given them poicer that what-
soever they loose on earth shall he loosed in
heaven, (Matt, xxviii. 18.) he undoubtedly
believes, that wliosoever comes to them
making a sincere and humble confession
of his sins, with a true repentance and firm
purpose of amendment, and a hearty reso-
lution of turning from his evil ways, may
from them receive absolution by the au-
thority given them from heaven,* and no
doubt but God ratifies above the sentence
pronounced in that tribunal; loosing in
heaven whatsoever is thus loosed hy them on
earth. And that whosoever comes without
the due preparation, without a repentance
from the bottom of his heart, and a real
intention of forsaking his sins, receives no
benefit by the absolution, but adds sin to
sin, by a high contempt of God's mercy,
and abuse of his sacraments.

OF INDULGENCES.

The Papist misrepresented believes that
his holy father the Pope can give him leave
to commit what sin he pleaseth; especially
if he can make him a present of a round
sum of money, he never need doubt of in-
dulgence or pardon for himself and his heirs
for ever, for all sorts of crimes or wicked-

AND REPRESENTED. 31

ness, he or any of his posterity may have
convenience of falling into, and having his
commission in his pocket, under the Pope's
broad seal, he may be confident th?.t Christ
will confirm and stand to all that his Vicar
upon earth has granted, and not call him to
any account for any thing he has done,
although he should chance to die without
the least remorse of conscience, or repen
tance for his sins.

The Papist truly represented believes it
damnable to hold that the Pope, or any
other power in heaven or earth, can give
him leave to commit any sins whatsoever;
or that for any sum of money he can obtain
an indulgence or pardon for sins that are
to be committed by him, or his heirs, here-
after. He firmly believes that no sins can
be forgiven without a true and hearty re-
pentance; but that still there is a power
in the Church of granting indulgences, by
which, as he is taught in his Catechism,
nothing more is meant than a releasing, to
such as are truly penitent, the debt of tem-
poral punishment which remained due on
account of those sins, which as to the guilt
and eternal punishment had been already re-
mitted by rc[)cntance and confession. For
we see in the case of King David, (2 Sam,
xii. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.) that the debt of
temporal punishment is not always remitted

32 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

when the guilt of the sin is remitted; and
as the Church of God from the beginning
was ever convmced of this truth, therefore,
besides the hearty repentance and confes-
sion which she insisted upon in order for
the discharge of the guilt of sin, she also
required severe penances, sometimes of
three, seven, ten years, or more, for the
discharge of the debt of the temporal pun-
ishment due to divine justice. Now the
releasing or nioderating for just causes
these penalties incurred by sin, is called an
indulgence. And the power of granting
such indulgences is visibly implied in the
promise of the keys, and of binding and
loosing made to the pastors of the Church,
{Matt, xvh 19.) And the exercise of this
power was frequent in \.\\b primitive church,
and is even authorized by the example of
St. Paul himself, who granted such an in-
dulgence to the incestuous Corinthian, (2
Cor, ii. 10.) forgiving, as he says, in the
person of Christ; that is, by the power and
authority he had received from him. Now
the good works usually required for the
obtaining indulgences are, prayer, fasting,
visiting churches, confession, communion,
and alms-deeds: but what money there is
given at any time on this account, concerns
not at all the Pope's coffers, but is by every
one given as they please, either to the poor,
to sick, to prisoners, &c. where they judge

AND REPRESENTED. 33

it most charity. As to the rest, if any abuses
have been committed in granting or gaining
indulgences, through the fault of some par-
ticular persons, these cannot in justice be
charged upon the church, to the prejudice of
her faith and doctrine,- especially since she
has been so careful in the retrenching them,
as may be seen by what was done in the
council of Trent. Decreta de indulgentiis*

OF SATISFACTION.

The Papist misrepresented believes very
injuriously of Christ's passion, being per-
suaded that his sufferings and death were
not sufficiently satisfactory for our sins, but
that it is necessary for every one to make
satisfaction for themselves. And for this
end, after he has been at confession, the
priest enjoins him a penance, by the per-
formance of which he is to satisfy for his
oflcnces, and thus confidently relying upon
his own penitential works, he utterly eva-
cuates Christ's passion, and though he pro-
fesses himself a Christian, and that Christ
is his Saviour, yet by his little trusting to
him, he seems to think him to be no better
than what his crucifix informs, that is, a
mere wooden one.

The Papist truly represented believes it
damnable to think injuriously of Christ!s pas-

M A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

sion: nevertheless he believes, that though
condign satisfaction for the guilt of sin, and
the pain eternal due to it, be proper only to
Christ our Saviour; yet that penitent sin-
ners being redeemed by Christ, and made
his members, may in some measure satisfy
by prayers, fasting, alms, &c. for the tem-
poral pain, which by order of God's justice,
sometimes remains due after the guilt, and
the eternal pains are remitted; so that trust-
ing Christ as his Redeemer, he yet does
not think that by Christ's sufferings every
Christian is discharged of his particular
sufferings, but that every one is to suffer
something for himself, as St. Paul did, who
by many tribulations, and by sufferings in
his oion Jlesh, filled up that ivhich ivas want-
ing of the passion of Christ, and this not
only for himself, but for the whole church.
(Coloss. i. 24.) And this he finds every
where in scripture, I'z;:. people admonished of
the greatness of their sins, doing penance in
fasting, sackcloth, and ashes, and by volun-
tary austerities, endeavouring to satisfy the
divine justice; and these personal satisfac-
tions God has sufficiently also minded him
of in the punishments inflicted on Moses,
Aai'on, David, and infinite others, and even
in the afflictions sent by God upon our own
age, in plagues, icars, fires, persecutions,
rehellions and such like ; which, few are so
atheistical,, but they confess to be sent from

AND REPRESENTED. 3^5

neaven for the.just chastisement of our sins,
and which we are to undergo, notwithstand-
ing the infinite satisfaction made by Christ,
and without any undervaluing it. Now be-
ing thus convinced of some temporal punish-
ments being due to his sins, he accepts of
all tribulations, whether in body, name, or
estate, from whencesoever they come, and
with others of their own choosing, offers
them up to God for the discharging this
debt, still confessing that his offences de-
serve still more; but these penitential works
he is taught to be no otherwise satisfactory
than as joined and applied to the satisfac-
tion which Jesus made upon the cross* in
virtue of which alone, all our good works
find a grateful acceptance in God's sight.

OF READING THE HOLY SCRIPTURES.

The Papist misrepresented believes it part
of his duty to speak irreverently of the
Holy Scripture, to do what he is able to
lessen the repute of it, and bring it into
disgrace; and for this end, he says it is ob-
scure, full of ambiguous expressions, and
not fit to be read by the vulgar, nor fit to
be translated into vulgar languages; and
without respect to Christ or his apostles,
profanely teaches, that no ten books in the
world have done so much mischief to Chris-
tianity, as this one; and under a vain pro-

36 A. PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

tcnce of preventing farther inconveniencies,
endeavours to deprive all of this spiritual
comfort, of this divine food, of this heavenly
light, that so being kept in darkness, they
may be also preserved in ignorance, and
damned eternally.

The Papist truly represented believes it
damnable in any one, to think, speak, or do
any thing irreverently towards the scrip-
ture, or by any means whatsoever to bring
it into disrepute or disgrace: he holds it in
the highest veneration of all men living, he
professes it to be the pure oracles of God,
and that we are rather bound to lose our
lives than concur any way to its profana-
tion. It is true he does not think it fit to
be read generally, by all, in the vulgar ton-
gues; not for any disrespect to it, but, 1.
because he understands that private inter-
pretation is not proper for the scripture, (2
Pet. 1. 20.) 2. Because in the epistles of
St. Paul are certain things hard to he un-
derstood, lohich the unlearned and unstable
unrest, as also the rest of the scriptures, to
their own perdition, (2 Pet. iii. 16.) 3. Be-
cause God has given only sojne to be apos-
tles, some prophets, other some evangelists,
and some pastors and teachers, (Eph. iv. 11.)
For these reasons he is taught that, it is not
convenient for the scripture to be read in-
differently by all men, but only by such as

AND REPRESENTED. 37

are humble, discreet, and devout, and such
as are willing to observe directions in the
perusing this sacred volume; that is, to take
notice of all godly histories, and imitate
examples of humility, chastity, obedience,
mercy to the poor, &c. and in all hard, ob-
scure, and disputable points, to refer all to
the arbitration of the church, to the judg-
ment of those whom God has appointed pas-
tors and teachers; never presuming to con-
tend, control, teach, or talk of their ow^n
sense and fancy in deep questions of divin-
ity, and high mysteries of faith ; but expect-
ing the sense of these from the lips of the
priest^ who shall keep knowledge^ and from
whose mouth they shall require the law. (Mai.
ii. 7.) This caution is used, lest the scrip-
ture coming into the hands of a presuming
sort of proud, curious, and contentious peo-
ple, be abused and perverted, who make it
their business to enquire into high and hid-
den secrets of God's counsels, and upon the
presumption of I know not what spirit,
immediately become teachers, controllers,
and judges of doctors, church, scripture and
all; and acknowledging no authority left by
Christ, to which they are to submit, under
pretence of scripture and God's word, make
way for all sorts of profanencss, ir religion,
and atheism; so that it is not for the pre-
serving ignorance he allows a restraint up-
on the reading the scripture, but for the
4

S8 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

preventing a blind ignorant presumpti<m,
and that it may be done to edification and
not to destruction, and without casting what
is holy to dogs, or pearls to swine.

OF THE SCRIPTURE AS A RULE OF FAITH.

The Papist misrepresented believes it his
obligation to undervalue the scripture, and
take from it that authority which Christ
gave it. For whereas Christ left this to the
world as the rule of faith, and as a sacred
oracle from whence ail his followers might
be instructed in the pi^ceptsof a good life,
learn all the mysteries of their faith, and
be resolved in all difficult and doubtful
points of religion; he is taught flatly to
deny all this, and to believe that the scrip-
ture is not capable of deciding any one
point of controversy, or reconciling the dif-
ferent sentiments of men in religion; and
thus he demeans himself towards the word
of God in a manner unbecoming a Christian.

The Papist truly rej^resenfed believes it
damnable to undervalue the scripture, or to
take from it the authority given it by
Christ. He gives it all respect due to the
word of God; — he owns it to be of the
greatest authority upon earth, and that it is
capable of leading a man to all truth,
where it is rightly understood. But to any

AND REPKESENTED. 39

one that understands it, and takes it in any-
other sense than it was intended by the
Holy Ghost, he believes it to such a one to
be no scripture, no word of God; that to
such a one it is no rule of faith, nor judge
of controversies; and that what he thinks
to be the doctrine of Christ, and command
of heaven, is nothing but his own imagina-
tion and the suggestions of the devil-. And
since by the experience of so many hundred
heresies since our Saviour's time, all pre-
tending to be grounded on scripture, he
finds that almost every text of the Bible
and even those that concern the most essen
tial and fundamental points of the Chris-
tian religion, have been interpreted several
ways, and made to signify things contrary
to one another; and while thus contrary
meanings are by several persons drawn
from the same word, the scripture is still
silent, without discovering which of all
these senses is that intended by the Holy
Ghost, and agreeable to truth; and which
are erroneous and anti-christian: he con-
cludes that the scripture alone, without
taking along with it the interpretation of
the Church, cannot be to every private per-
son the whole rule of his faith. Not that
there is any authority wanting on the scrip-
lure side, but because no private person can
be certain whether, amongst all the several
meanings every text is liable to, that which

40 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

he understands it in is right or not. And
without this certainty of truth, and secu-
rity from error, he knows there is nothing
capable of being a sufficient rule of his]
faith.

OF THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE.

The Papist misrepresented believes that
his church, which he calls Catholic, is above
the scripture; and profanely allows to her
an uncontrolable authority of being judge
of the word of God ; and being fondly abus
ed into a distrust of the scriptures, and that
he can be certain of nothing, not even of
the fundamentals of Christianity, from what :
is delivered in them though they speak
never so plainly; he is taught wholly to |
rely upon this Church, and not to believe i
one word the scripture says, unless his
church says so too.

The Papist truly represented believes that
the Church is not above the scripture; but
allows that order between them as is be-
tween the judge and the law; afid is no
other than what generally every private
member of the reformation challenges to
himself, as often as he pretends to decide
any doubt of his own, or his neighbour, in
religion, by interpreting the scripture. —
Neither is he taught at all to distrust the

AND REPRESENTED. 41

scripture, or not to rely on it, but only to
distrust his own private interpretation of it,
and not to rely on his own judgment in the
resolution of any doubt concerning faith or
religion, though he can produce several
texts in favour of his opinion: but in all
such cases he is commanded to recur, to the
Church; and having learned from her the
true sense of all such texts, how they have
been understood by the whole community
of Christians, in all ages since the apostles;
and what has been their received doctrine
in such doubtful and difficult points; he is
obliged to submit to this, and never pre-
sume on his own private sentiments, how-
ever seemingly grounded on reason and
scripture, to believe or preach any new doc-
trine opposite to the belief of the Church;
but as he receives from her the book, so
also to receive from her the sense of the
book; with a holy confidence, that she that
did not cheat him in delivering a false book
for a true one, will not cheat him in deliv-
ering a false and erroneous sense for the
true one; her authority, which is sufficient
in the one, being not less in the other; and
his own private judgment, which was insuf-^
ficient in the one, that* is, in finding out the
true scripture, and discerning it from all
other books, being as incapable and insuffi
cient in the other, that is, in certainly dis-
covering the meaning of the Holy Chost,
4*

^ A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

'and avoiding all other heterodox and mis
taken interpretations.

1

OF TRADITION.

The Papist misrepresented believes the
Holy Scripture to be imperfect; and for the
supplying of what he thinks defective in it,
he admits human ordinations and traditions
of men; allowing equal authority to tliese
as to the scriptures themselves, thinking
himself as much obliged to submit to these,
and believe them with divine faith, as he
does whatsoever is written in the Bible,
and confessedly spoken by the Author of
all Truth, God himself Neither will he
admit any one to be a member of his com-
munion, although he undoubtedly believes
every word that is written in the scripture,
unless he also assents to the traditions, and
gives as great credit to them as to the word
of God, although in that there is not the
least footstep to be found.

The Papist truly represented believes the
scripture not to be imperfect, nor to want
human ordinations, or traditions of men, for
the supplying any defects in it; neither does
he allow the same authority to these as to
the word of God, or give them equal credit,
or exact it from others that desire to be
admitted into the communion of his churck.

AND REPRESENTED. 43

He believes no divine faith ought to be
given to any thing but w^hat is of divine
revelation; and that nothing is to have
place in his creed but what was taught him
'by Christ and his apostles, and has been be-
lieved and taught in all ages by the Church
of God, the congregation of all true be-
lievers, and has been so delivered down to
him thiN>ugh all ages. Rut now whether
that which has been delivered down to him
as the doctrine of Christ and his apostles,
has been by word of mouth or writing, is
altogether indifferent to him, he being ready
to follow, in this point, as in all others, the
command of St. Paul, that is, to stand fast,
and to hold the tradition he has learned,
whether hy ivord or epistle, (2 Thess. ii. 25.)
and to look upon any one as anathema that
shall preach otherwise than he has (thus)
received. (Gal. i. 9.) So that as he un-
doubtedly holds the whole Bible to be the
word of God, because in all ages it has
been so taught, preached, believed, and de-
livered successively by the faithful, al-
though they are not, nor have at any time
been able to prove what they have thus
taught and delivered with one text of scrip-
t'Ur^; in the like manner, he is ready to
receive and believe all this same conijrega-
tion, together ^vith the Bible, in all ages
successively, without interruption taught,
preached, believed, and delivered as the

44 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

doctrine of Christ and his Apostles; and
assents to it with divine faith, just as he
does to the Bible; and esteems any one*
anathema that shall preach otherwise than
he has thus received.

OF COUNCILS.

The Papist misrepresented believes that
the faith of his Church may receive new
additions every day, and that he is not only
obliged to believe what Christ and his apos-
tles taught, but also. every definition or
decree of any general council o.ssembled by
the Pope; so that as often as any thing is
issued out by the authority of any of these
church parliaments, and ordered to be be-
lieved, he thinks himself under pain of
damnation, immediately bound to receive
it, and having added it to his creed, to as-
sent to it with as firm, steadfast, and divine
a faith, as if it had been commanded by
Christ himself, and decreed in the consis-
tory of heaven.

The Papist tnily represented believes that
the faith of the Church can receive no
additions, and that he is obliged to believe
nothing besides that which Christ and his
apostles taught, and if any thing contrary
to this should be defined and commanded to
be believed, even by ten thousand councils^

AND REPRESENTED. 45

he believes it damnable in any one to re-
ceive it, and by such decrees to make addi-
tions to his creed. However, he maintains
the authority of general councils lawfully
assembled, whose business it is, not to coin
new articles of faith, or devise fresh tenets,
but only as often as any point of received
doctrine is impugned or called in question,
to debate the matter, and examine what has
been the belief of all nations (who are there
present in their prelates) in that point, and
this being agreed upon to publish and make
known to the world which is the Catholic
doctrine left by Christ and his apostles, and
which the new broached error; and by
this means to prevent the loss of an infinite
number of souls, which might otherwise be
deluded, and carried away after new inven-
tions. And in this c^se he believes he is
obliged to submit, and receive the decrees
of such a council: the pastors and prelates
there present being by Christ and his apos-
tles appointed for the decision of such con-
troversies, they having the care of that
flock committed to them, over which the
Holy Ghost has made them overseers to feed
the Church of God, (Acts xx. 28.) and to
watch against those men who should arise
fro?n among themselves, spcaldug perversa
things to draw disciples after tlicm, (Acts v.
30.) and he having received command, as
likewise the whole /lock of Christ, to obey

45 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

their prelates, and to be subject to them who
xvatch and are to render an account for their
souls, (Heb. xiii. 17.) with an assurance, that
he that heareth them hearelh Christ, and he that
despiseth them despiseth Christ, (Luke x. 16.)

OF INFALLIBILITY IN THE CHURCH.

The Papist misrepresented bejieves that
the pastors and prelates of his Church are
infallible, and that like so many divine
oracles, or petty deities, they are exempt
from error, and cannot deceive, or be de-
ceived; but this especially when they are
met together in a general council. It being
a main part of his^ faith, that then they are
secure from all mistake, and it is as impos-
sible for them, how ignorant or wicked so-
ever, to decline either to the right hand or to
the left in any of their definitions and decrees
as it is for God to become the author of lies-

The Papist truly represented believes tha^t
the pastors and prelates of his Church are
fallible; that there is none of them but
what may fall into error and heresies, and
consequently liable to be deceived. But
that the whole Church can fail or be de-
ceived in any one point of fjyth, this he
believes impossible, knowing it to be built
on better promises, such as secure her from
all error and danger of prevarication; herr

AND REPRESENTED. 47

foundation being laid by Christ, against
which the gates of hell shall not prevail;
{Matt. xvi. 18.) the power that protects
her being Christ himself: Behold I avi with
you all days; [Matt, xxviii. 20.) the spirit
that guides and teaches her being the Com-
forter, the Holy Ghost, who shall teach her
all things, and suggest to her all things that
Christ has said to her; (John xiv. 26.) the
time that she is to be thus protected, taught,
and assisted, being not only while the apos-
tles lived, or for the first three, four, or five
hundred years next after, but for ever to
the end of the world : Behold I am with you
all days, even unto the end of the world;
{Matt, xxviii. 20.) He will give you an-
other Paraclete J that he may abide with you
for ever J {John xiv. 16, 17.) the Spirit of
Truth; and the thing, that she is to be
thus taught to the end of the world being
all truth : He shall teach you all truth. {John
xvi. 13.) Now being assured by these pro-
mises, that the Church of Christ shall be
taught all truth by the special assistance of
the Holy Ghost to the end of the world, he
has faith to believe that Christ will make
his words good, and that his Church shall
never fail, nor be corrupted with anti-chris-
tian doctrine, nor be the mistress of errors;
but shall be taught all truth, and shall teach
all truth, to the consummation of the world
and that whosoever hears her, hears Christy

J

48 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

and whosoever despises her, despises Christ
and ought to be esteemed as a heathen or
publican. (Matt, xviii. 17.) The like assist-
ance of the Holy Ghost he believes to be in
all general councils, which is the Church
representative, (as the Parliament is the
representative of the nation.) by which they
are specially protected from all error, in
all definitions and declarations in matters
of faith. So that what the apostles pro-
nounced concerning the result of their
council, (Acts xv. 28.) it hath seemed good
to the Holy Ghost, and to us, he does not
doubt, may be prefixed to all the determi-
nations in point of faith resolved upon by
any general council, lawfully assembled,
since that time, or to be held to the world's
end; the assistance being to extend as far
as the promise. And though it be possible
that several of the prelates and pastors in
such an assembly, as also many others in
communion with the Church of Christ,
should at other times, either through pride
or ignorance, prevaricate, make innovations
in faith, teach erroneous doctrines, and en-
deavour to draw numbers after them, yet
he is taught that this does not at all argue
a fallibility in the Church, nor prejudice
her faith, but only the persons that thus
unhappily fall into these errors, and cut
themselves off from being members of the
mystical body of Christ upon earth. Whilst

St, I

•a f

AND EEPRESENTED. 49

the belief of the Church remahis pure and
untainted, and experiences the truth of what
St. Paul foretold, that ravenous wolves shall
enter in amongst you^ not sjxtring the fock;
also of your own selves shall men arise,
speaking perverse things, to draio away dis-
ciples after them, (Acts xx. 29, 30,) which,
as it proved true even in the apostles' time,
by the fall of Nicholas and several others,
so it has been verified in all ages since, by
turbulent and presuming spirits broaching
new doctrines, and making separations and
schisms; but this without casting any more
aspersion on the Church or congregation of
the faithful, than the fall of Judas did on
the apostles, or the rebellion of Lucifer on
the hierarchy of angels. Neither does it
reflect at all on the Church's authority, or
make the truth of her doctrine questionable
to him, that many of her members and pre-
lates have been or are enormous sinners;
because he is convinced that the promises
of God's continued and uninterrupted as-
sistance to his Church are not to be made
void by the wickedness of particular men,
in how great dignity soever.

OF THE porE.

The Papist misrepresented believes the
Pope to be his gi-cat (lod, and to be far
above all the angels; that Christ is no long-

50 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

cr head of the Church, but that this holy
father hath taken his place, and that what-
soever he orders, decrees, or commands, is
to be received by his flock with the same
respect, submission, and awe, as if Christ
had spoken it by his own mouth. For this,
his Holiness having once received the triple
crown on his head, he is now no longer
liable to error, but is infallible, and can do
nothing amiss.

The Papist, truly represented^ believes the
Pope to be none of his God, neither great
nor little, that he is not above the angels,
but only a man. He believes that as Christ
is supreme master, governor and Lord of
all created things, so also of his Church,
of which he acknowledges him to be the
founder and head. But, as notwithstanding
this lordship and headship of Christ over
all things, every father of a family owns
himself to be master of it under Christ;
and every king is confessed supreme lord
and governor of his dominions under God;
so also, he believes that there is a pastor,
governor, and head of Christ's Church un-
der Christ, to wit, the Pope or Bishop of
Rome, who is the successor of St. Peter, to
whom Christ committed the care of his
flock, and who hath been followed now by
a visible succession of above two hundred
and fifty bishops, acknowledged as such in

AND REPRESENTED, 51

all ages by the Christian world. And now
believing the Pope to enjoy this dignity, he
looks upon himself obliged to show that
respect, submission, and obedience, which
are due to his place,- a thing no body can in
reason or conscience deny to any one in
rule, or that has any superiority. Neither
does he make any doubt but God assists
those who have this high charge, with a
particular helping grace with respect to
their office and function for the benefit of
the whole flock; though he is not obliged to
believe them infallible, this being a point
never defined by the Church, much less
impeccable.

OF DISPENSATIONS,

The Papist inisrepresented believes that
the Pope has authority to dispense with the
laws of God, and absolve any one from the
obligation of keeping the commandments;
so that if he has but his holy father's leave,
he may confidently dissemble, lie, and for-
swear himself in all whatsoever he pleases,
and never be in danger of being called to
an account at the last day, especially if his
lying and forswearing be for the common
good of the Church; there being then a
sure reward prepared for him in heaven,
as a recompense for his good intentions and
heroic achievements; and if at any time he

5-2 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

should chance to be caught in the manage-
ment of any of these public Church con-
cerns, and being obnoxious to penal laws,
should have sentence of death passed on
him, he has liberty at his last hour on the
scaffold or ladder, to make a public detesta-
tion of all such crimes, to make protesta-
tions of his innocence, to call God to wit-
ness that he dies unjustly, and that as he is
immediately to appear before the supreme
judge, he knows no more of any such de-
signs, and is as clear from the guilt of them
as the child unborn. And this, though the
evidence against him be as clear as noon
day, and the jury be never so impartial,
and the judge never so conscientious: for
that he having taken the sacrament and
oath of secresy, and received absolution, or
a dispensation from the Pope, may then lie,
swear, forswear, and protest all that he
pleases without scruple, with a good con-
science, christian-like, holy and canonical ly.

The Papist truly represented believes that
the Pope has no authority to dispense with
the law of God, and that there is no power
upon earth that can absolve any one from
the obligation of keeping the command-
ments, or give leave to lie or forswear, or
make that the breaking of any the least
divine precept shall not be accounted for
g.t the day of judgment. He is taught by

AND REPRESENTED. 53

bis Church in all his books of direction, in
all catechisms, in all sermons, that every
lie is a sin, that to call God to witness an
untruth is damnable, that it ought not to be
done to save the whole world, that whoso-
ever does it either for his own personal
account or for the interest of Church or
Pope, or whatsoever else, must of necessity
answer for it at the last day, and expect his
portion with the devil and his angels, if un-
repented of; and that no one can give leave
for lying, perjury, or committing any sin,
or even pretend to it, unless it be the devil
himself, or some devilish ministers of his,
(the Catholic truly represented,) such as he
detests in his heart, and utterly abominates.
And in consequence of this, he believes that
whosoever at the hour of death denies any
crime of which he is guilty, and swears
himself to be innocent, when he is not so,
can have no hope of mercy, but departing
out of this world an enemy to God and the
truth, and with a lie in his mouth, can ex-
pect no reward but from the father of lies.
And this, whatsoever his crime was, whe-
ther incurred by an undertaking for mother
Church or not, and whatsoever his pretences
for the denial of the truth were, whether
absolutions, dispensations, the sacrament,
or oath of secresy, or whatsover else, no-
thing of these being capable of excusing
him in lies or perjuries, or making them to
5*

54 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

be innocent, and not displeasing to God.
Nor indeed did he ever hear of* these so
much talked of dispensations and absolu-
tions from any priest in his Church, either
in sermons or confessions; he never read of
them in his books and catechisms; he never
saw the practice of them in any of his com-
munion; it having been their custom ever
since oaths were first devised against them,
rather to suffer the loss of their goods,
banishments, imprisonments, torments, and
death itself, than forswear themselves, or
protest the untruth. And it is not out of
the memory of man that several might have
saved their estates, and lives also, if they
would have subscribed to, and owned but
one lie, and yet they refused it; choosing
rather an infamous death than prejudice
their conscience with an untruth. So it
seems a great mystery to him, that those
of his profession should have leave and dis-
pensation to lie and forswear themselves at
pleasure, and yet that they should need
nothing else but lying and perjury for the
quiet enjoyment of their estates, for the
saving their lives, for the obtaining places
of the highest command and dignity, such
as would be extraordinarily advantageous
for their cause, and the interest of their
Church; and yet that they should generally
choose to forego all these so considerable
conveniences rather than once lie or for-

AND REPRESENTED. 55

swear themselves. And is it not another
great mystery, that these dispensations for
lying and swearing should be according to
the received doctrine of his Church; and
yet that he or any of his communion, were
never instructed nor informed of any such
diabolical point? nay, had never come to
the knowledge of it, had it not been for the
information received from some zealous ad-
versaries, either such as relate merely up-
on trust, or else such as have received a
dispensation for lying from the devil, that
they might charge the like doctrine on the
Pope and the Church of Rome.

OF THE DEPOSING POWER.

The Papist misrepresented believes that
the Pope has authority to dispense with his
allegiance to his prince; and that he needs
no longer be a loyal subject, and main-
tain the rights, privileges, and authority
of his king than the Pope will give him
leave. And that if this mighty father
should think fit to thunder out an excom-
munication against liim, then he shall be
deemed the best subject, and most christian,
that shall take up arms ngainst him, and
make him a sacrifice to Home: so that there
can be no greater danger to a king than
to have popish subjects, he holding his life
amongst them only at the Pope's pleasure.

56 A PAPIST MISREPKESEKTEi)

It is no part of the faith of the Papist
truly represented to believe that the Pope
has authority to dispense with his allegi-
ance to his sovereign, or that he can despose
princes upon any account whatsoever; or
give leave to their subjects to take up arms
against them, and endeavour their ruin.
He knows that the deposing power has
been maintained by some divines of his
Church, and that it is, in their opinion, an-
nexed to the papa! chair. He knows like-
wise that some Popes have endeavoured to
act according to this power; but he also
knows, that this doctrine is so far from be-
ing looked upon as an article of the Catho-
lic Faith, that it is as earnestly opposed by
the French Papists as it is by English Pro-
testants. And as for any danger arising to
kings from having popish subjects, it is very
well known that princes in popish countries
sit as safe on their thrones, and enjoy as
much peace and security as any princes
whatsoever; and the Papists here in Eng-
gland can give as good proofs of their loyal-
ty, and that to Protestant kings and princes,
as the best of those that clamour so loud
against them.

OF COMMUNION IN ONE KIND.

The Papist misrepresented believes, that
he is no longer obliged to obey Christ's com-

ATfD REPRESENTED. 5-?

mands than his Church will give him leave;
and that therefore, though Christ instituted
the sacrament under boih kinds, and com-
manded it to be so received by all, yet he
thinks it not necessary for any to do so
now but Priests; because his Church, for-
sooth, hath forbidden the cup to the laity,
and put a stop to the precept of Christ,
Brink ye all of this. (Matt. xxvi. 27.)

The Papist truly'^represented believes that
he is obliged to obey all the commands of
Christ; and that neither his Church, nor
any other power upon earth, can limit,
alter, or annul any precept of divine insti-
tution, contrary to the intention of the Law-
giver. Neither is the denial of the cup to
the laity a practice any ways opposite to
this his belief, he being taught that though
Christ instituted the blessed sacrament un-
der both kinds, and so delivered it to his
apostles, who only then were present, and
and whom he then made priests, yet he
gave no command that it should bo received
by all the faithful, but left this indiflerent,
as it is evident from his own words, where
he attributes the obtaining life everlasting,
which is the end of the institution, no less
to the receiving in one kind, than to the
receiving under both kinds; as when he
says, If any man cat (f this bread, he shall
live for ever. JIc that calcth mc, the sama

58 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

shall live hy vie. He that eatelh this bread
shall live for ever, (John vi. 51, 57, 58;)
and a curious reader may find as many
texts for thus receiving under one kind as
for the other. Thus St. Augustine was of
opinion, that Christ himself administered
the sacrament to some of his disciples un-
der one kind only, viz. to the two going to
Emmaus, (Luke xxiv. 30.) and that the
apostles afterwards did often practise the
like, when they assembled to break bread,
(Acts ii, &c.) which places he and other
fathers explain of the sacrament, Aug. L.
Conf. Evatig. c. 49.; and that it was the
custom of tlie primitive Christians to give
it under one kind to children, to the sick,
and to the faithful in time of persecution;
and that men on a journey used to carry it
with them, is attested both by ancient wri-
ters and modern historians. Nay, he finds
it was the practice of the Church to com-
municate under one kind only, or else un-
der both, as every one thought good, for
the first four hundred years after Christ:
and that the first precept of receiving un-
der both kinds was given to the faithful by
Pope Leo I. in the year 443, and confirmed
by Pope Gelasius in 490, not for the cor-
recting any abuse that had crept into the
Church, but for discovering the Manichees,
who being of the opinion that Christ had
no true blood, and that wine was the gall

AND REPRESENTED. 59

of the devil, used to lurk among the Chris-
tians, and receiving under the form of
bread only, as the rest did, remained un-
distinguished, till by this obligation of all
receiving the cup, which they judged un-
lawful and abominable, they were detected.
And now, if a thing, till that time indiffe-
rent, was for these motives determined by
ecclesiastical precept, and so observed for
some hundred years without scruple or
questioning the authority, why should he
doubt to submit to the same authority, when
upon different motives and circumstances
they issue forth another precept? Few
doubt of this in the manner of eating stran-
gled meats and blood, which, though for-
bid by the apostles, (Acts xv.) and so at
that time unlawful, is now, and upon other
circumstances, becom.e a thing indifferent,
like other things. And why then should
he scruple in this, especially since there is
no injury done, nor he defrauded of any
thing? For believing the real presence of
Christ in the sacrament, he consequently
believes whole and living Jesus to be en-
tirely contained under either species; and
that receiving one kind, he is truly parta-
ker of the whole sacrament, and not de-
prived of cither the body or blood of
Christ.

A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

OF THE MASS.

The Papist misrepresented believes that
there is an insufficiency in the sacrifice
made by Christ upon the cross, and that
his death will little avail us in order to our
redemption, unless we, by daily sacrificing
.him to his Father, perfect what he began;
and therefore, taking little notice of St.
PauPs words to the Hebrews, chap. x. 14.
where he says, that Christ our High Priest
hy one ohlaiion hath perfected for ever them
that are sanctifed, he thinks he shall never
be sanctified iDut by the offerings made by
his Mass Priests, upon their altars, when
they say Mass.

The Papist truly represented believes that
the sacrifice made by Christ upon the cross
was altogether sufficient; that by it he saved
and redeemed us, paying the debt of sin,
and satisfying the infinite justice of his
Father; that by it he procured for us all
means for our salvation; all graces in order
for faith and good works; all the sacra-
ments; and which of all things is most
honourable to God, the offering of a sacri-
fice. But as Christ's worshiping of God,
his fasting, praying, and su fie ring for us,
do not hinder or evacuate our worship-
ing of God, our fasting, sufiering, or pray-
ing for ourselves; so neither did his sacri-

AND REPRESENTED. 61

fice hinder or evacuate all sacrifice for ever.
And as he instituted fasting, praying, and
suffering for his followers, that by so doing
they might apply what he did to them-
selves; so also he instituted a sacrifice, that
by it they might apply the merits of his
sacrifice, and make it beneficial to their
souls. So that though he firmly believes
that Christ offered sacrifice for our redemp-
tion, and by the one only offering, spoken
of by St. Paul, perfected, by way of re-
demption, the sanctification of all those that
are sanctified ; yet he also believes, that to
receive the benefit of this offering, we must
also do our parts, by our good works con-
curring with Christ, and in some manner
purifying our ov/n souls, (1 John iii. 3.)
and therefore not omit the best of all works,
v/hich is sacrifice, which our Saviour Jesus
Christ instituted at his last supper, when
leaving to us his body and blood under the
two distinct species of bread and wine, he
bequeathed as a legacy to his apostles, not
only a sacrament, but also a sacrifice, a
commemorative sacrifice, lively represent-
ing, in an unbloody manner, the bloody
sacrifice which was offered for us upon the
cross; and by a distinction of the symbols,
distinctly showing forth his (Christ's) death
until he come. This he gave in charge to
his apostles, as to the first and chief priests
of the New Testameiit, and to their succcs--
0

62 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

sors to offer,* commanding them to do the
same thing he had done at his last supper,
in commemoration of him. And this is the
oblation or sacrifice of the Mass, which has
been observed, performed, frequented by
the faithful in all ages, attested by the ge-
neral consent of all antiquity, universal
tradition, and the practice of the whole
Church; mentioned and allowed of by all
the fathers, Greek and Latin, and never
called in question till of late years, being
that pure offering which the prophet Ma-
lachi foretold should he offered among the
Gentiles in every place, (Mai. i. 11.) as this
text was ever understood by the ancient
fathers.

OF PURGATORY.

The Papist misrepresented believes (con-
trary to all reason, to the word of God, and
to all antiquity) that besides heaven and hell,
there is a third place, which his Church is
pleased to call purgatory; a place intended
purely for those of his communion, where
they may easily have admittance after this
life, without danger of falling into hell; for
that though hell was designed first for the
punishment of sinners, yet that now, since
the blessed discovery of purgatory, hell
may be easily skipped over, and an eternal
damnation avoided, for an exchange of

AND REPRESENTED. 63

some short penalty undergone in this the
Pope's prison.

The Papist truly represented believes it
damnable to admit of any thing for faith
that is contrary to reason, the word of God,
and all antiquity; but that the existence of
a third place, called purgatory, is so far
from being contrary to all, or any of these,
that it is attested, confirmed,- and estab-
lished by them all. It is expressly taught
in the second of Maccabees, c. xii. where
money was sent to Jerusalem, that sacrifice
might be offered for the slain, and it is re-
commended as a wholesome practice to pray
for the dead, that they may be loosed from
their sins. Now these two books of Mac-
cabees were certainly held in great vene-
ration by all antiquity; and as St. Augus-
tine informs us, L, xviii. Be Civ. Dei, were
then accounted canonical by the Church.
The existence also of a third place is plainly
intimated by our Saviour, (Matt. xii. 32.)
where he says, whosoever speaks against the
Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven hini^
neither in this world, nor in the ivorld to
come. By which words Christ evidently
supposes, that though these shall not, yet
some sins are forgiven in the woild to come;
which, since it cannot be in heaven, where
no sin can enter, nor in hell, where there
is no remission, it must neccs-'^arily be in

64 A PAPIST 1\IISREPRESENTED

some middle state; and in this sense it was
understood by St. Augustine about 1300
years ago, (Civ. Dei, L 21. c. 13. aiid 24. L.
6. coiit. Julian, c. 15.) and also by St. Gre-
gory the Great.- L. 4. Dial. c. 39. In the
same manner does St. Augustine under-
stand these words of St. Paul, (1 Cor. iii.
1 5.) he himself shall he saved, yet so as hy
fire, where he thinks him to be speaking
of a purging fire. (Aug. m Psal. 37.) So
the same lather understands that prison of
which St. Peter speaks, (1 Pet. iii. 19.) to
be some place of temporary chastisement.
Aiig. Ep. 99. And if this great doctor of
the Church, in those purer tiines, found so
often in the Bible a place of pains after this
life, from whence there was release, how
can any one say without presumption, that
the being of a third place is contrary to the
word of God? Neither can the antiquity
of this doctrine be more justly called in
question, of which is found so early men-
tion, not only in this holy father, but in
divers others his predecessors, who came
not long after the apostles, and were the
best witnesses of this doeti'ine. See Acta
SS. Perpet. et Felicit. mentioned and ap-
proved by St. Augustine, /. \. de Aiiima et
ejus Orig. c. 10. 7.^3. c. 9. et t. 4. c. 18. Ter-
tullian, I. de Cor. Mil. c. 3. et. I. de Mono-
gamia; S. Cuprian, Ep. Q^. ad Cler. Arno-
bius, I. 4. contra Gen. (^^c. S^-c. As to the

AND REPRESENTED. 65

reasonableness of this tenet his reason con-
vinces him, 1. That every sin, how slight
soever, though no more than an idle word,
as an offence to God, deserves punishmentj
and will be punished by him hereafter,
if not previously cancelled by repentance
here. 2. That such small sins do not de-
serve eternal punishment. 3. That few
depart this life so pure as to be totally
exempt from spots of this nature, and from
every kind of debt due to God's justice.
4. Therefore, that few will escape without
suffering something from his justice for
such debts as they may have carried with
them out of this world, according to that
rule of divine justice by which he treats
every soul hereafter according to their
works, and according to the state in which
he finds them in death. Thus his reason
convinces him that there must be some
third place; for since the infinite goodness
of God can admit no one into heaven that
is not clea^i and pure from all sins, both
great and small, and his infinite justice can
permit none to receive the reward of bliss,
who as yet are not out of debt, but have
something in justice to sufierj there must
of necessity be some place or state where
souls departing this life, pardoned as to the
eternal guilt or pain, yet obnoxious to some
temporal penalty, or with the guilt of some
venial faults, are purged and purified before

w

A PAPIST WrSREPRESENTED

their admittance into heaven, l^is is what
he is taught concerning purgatory, which,
though he knows not where it is, nor of
what nature the paiiis are, nor how long
each soul is detained there, yet he believes
that those that are in this place, being
the living members of Jesus Christ, are
relieved by the prayers of their fellow
members on earth, as also by the alms and
masses offered up to God for their souls.
And as for such as have no relations or
friends to pray for them, or to give alms,
or procure masses for their relief, they are
not neglected by the Church, which makes
a general commemoration of all the faith-
ful departed in every mass, and in every
one of the canonical hours of the divine
office.

OF PRAYirs^G IN AN UNKN0%\T^ TONGUE.

The Papist misrepresented is counselled
by his Church to be present at sermons, but
never permitted to hear any he is able to
understand, they being all delivered in an
unknown tongue. He is taught to pray,
but it must be in Latin. He is commanded
to assist at the Church service and to hear
Mass, but it must be without understanding
a word, it being all performed in a language
of which he is altogether ignorant. And
thus he is miserably deprived of all the

AND REPRESENTED. 67

comfortable benefits of Christianity, hear-
ing but without understanding, praying but
without reaping any fruit, assisting at any
public assemblies, but like a stock or stone,
without feeling, or any the least sense of
devotion.

The Papist truly rejjresenled is counselled
by his Church to be present at sermons,
such as he is able to understand, they being
always delivered in the vulgar language
of every country: — in France, French; in
Spain, Spanish; in Italy, Italian; and in
England, English: they being purely in-
tended for the good instruction of the con-
gregation present. He is taught to pray,
and is always provided with such books of
devotion as he is capable of understanding;
every nation being well furnished with such
helps extant in the language proper to the
country. He is commanded to assist at the
Church service, and to hear Mass; — and in
this he is instructed, not so much to under-
stand the words as to know what is done.
For the Mass being a sacrifice wherein are
daily commemorated the death and passion
of Christ, by an oblation made by the
priest, of the body and blood of the imma-
culate Lamb, under the symbols of bread
and wine, according to his own institution;
it is not so much the business of the con-
gregation present to employ their cars in

^ A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

attending to the words, as their hearts in
contemplation of the divine mysteries, by
raising up fervent affections of love, thanks-
giving, sorrow for sins, resolutions of
amendment, &c. That thus having their
hearts and intention united with the priest's,
they may be partakers of his prayers, and
ihe sacrifice he is then offering, than which
he believes nothing is more acceptable to
God, or beneficial to true believers. And
for the raising of these affections in his
soul, and filling his heart with love and
devotion, he thinks in this case there is lit-
tle need of words; a true faith, without
these, is all sufficient. Who could but have
burst forth into tears of love and thanks-
giving if he had been present when our
Saviour was tied to the pillar, scourged and
tormented, though he opened not his mouth
to the bye-standers, nor spoke a word?
Who would have needed a sermon, to have
been filled with grief and compassion, if he
had seen his Saviour exposed to the scorn
of the Jews, when he was made a bloody
spectacle by Pilate, with an Ecce Jwmo, Be-
hold the man! Who could have stood cold
and senseless under the cross upon Mount
Calvary, when his Hedeemer was hanging
on it, though he had not heard or under-
stood a word that he spoke! Does any one
think that those holy women who followed
our Lord in these sad passages, and were

AND REPRESENTED. <59

witnesses of his sufferings, wanted holj
affections in their souls because he spoke
not? Were they scandalized at his si-
lence? Was not their faith in him that
sruffered, by which they believed him to be
Christ Jesus, true God and man, laying
down his life for the redemption of man,
sufficient to excite in their souls all the pas-
sions due from a sinful creature to his
bleeding Redeemer, his crucified Jesus?
The like faith is also sufficient to fill him
with devotion, when he is present at the
holy sacrifice of the Mass; for believing
that Christ is there really present before
him, under the species of bread and wine,
and that he who lies upon the altar is the
Lamb of God that takes away the sins of
the world, what need of more to quicken in
his soul all the affections of a devout lover?
Can he behold his Redeemer before him
and not break forth into love and thanks-
giving? Can he see him that gives sight
to the blind, health to the sick, and life to
the dead, and yet stand still senseless and
unmoved, without putting up any petition
to him, without asking any thing for his
blind, sick, and sinful soul? Can he believe
that he wiio gave his life for the world,
and died for our sins, is there befoixi him,
and not be touched with sorrow and con-
trition for his offences? — Can he see every
doleful passage of his Saviour's sufferings

70 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

commemorated in the several mysteries of
the Mass, and yet not be filled Avith grief
and compassion? Is not Jesus welcome to
a devout soul, although he come in silence?
Is not the presence of Christ a more forci-
ble motive to a Christian than any human
words could be? And if he must needs
have words, let him behold with the eye of
faith the gaping wounds of his Redeemer,
and see if they speak nothing to his soul.
If they do not, it is because he Avants faith.
It nothing therefore concerns his devotion
that the Mass is said in Latin : if the Church
has ordered it thus, to preserve unity, as in
faith, so in the external worship of God,*
and to prevent the alterations and changes
which it would be ex^>osed to if in the vul-
gar language, and for other good reasons;
what is that to him? He should receive
but little advantage if it were in his mother
tongue. For, besides that ihe greatest part
of it is said in so low a voice that it is not
possible he should hear it; the words do not
belong to him, but to the priest's office only;
his obligation is, to accompany the priest in
prayer and spirit, to be a joint ofierer with
him, to contemplate the mysteries there
represented, and to excite in his soul devo-
tions according to the exigency of every
passage; according to the directions he fmds
in his English prayer-books, of which there
is a great variety extant, set forth for the

AND REPRESENTED. 71

help of the ignorant; by which they are
taught the meaning of every part and cere-
mony of the Mass, and how to apply their
devotions accordingly. And if at any time
he be present at other public devotions
which are performed in Latin; or should
say any private prayers, or sing a hymn
in the same language, which he understands
not; yet is he taught that this can be done
with great benefit to his soul, and the ac-
ceptance of God, if on these occasions he
does but endeavour to raise his thoughts to
heaven, and to fix his heart upon his Maker;
for that God does not respect the language
of the lips, but of the heart; does not attend
to the motion of the tongue, but of the
mind; and if these be but directed to him
in thanksgiving, in praising or petitioning,
in humiliation, in contrition, and such like
acts as circumstances require, he need not
doubt that God accepts his prayers and de-
votions; it being an undeniable thing, that
to say prayers well and devoutly, it is not
necessary to have attention on the words,
or on the sense of the j)r-ayers, but rather
purely on God, of these three attentions,
this last being approved by all, as of great-
est perfection and most pleasing to God.
And this he can have, whether he under-
stands the words or not, it being very usual
and easy for a ipctitioner to accompany his
petition with an ^caroie&t desire of obtaining

72 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

his suit, though the language in which it is
worded be unknown to him.

OF THE SECOND COMMANDMENT.

The Papist misrepresented is kept in igno-
rance as to the essential part of his duty
towards God, never being permitted to
know the commandments but by halves; for
in the books delivered to him for his in-
struction, such as catechisms and manuals,
the second commandment is wholly left out,
and he by this means is taught to fall into
all sorts of superstitious worship, and down-
right idolatry.

The Papist truly represented is instructed
in his whole duty towaards God, and most
especially in the ten commandments. He
is taught to understand them all and every
one; that there is an obligation of observ-
ing them under pain of eternal damnation,
and that whosoever breaks any one of them
loses the favour of God, and as certainly
hazards the loss of his soul as if he broke
them all. And though in some short cate-
chisms in which the whole Christian doctrine
is delivered in the most compendious and
easy method in condescension to weak me-
mories, and low capacities, the second com-
mandment, as it is reckoned by some, be
omitted; yet it is to be seen at length ia

AND REVRESENTED. T3

Other catechisms, manuals, and doctrinal
books, to be met with every where in great
plenty. And if any one should chance not
to see any of these, yet would he be out of
all danger of falling into any superstitious
worship or idolatry; for that having read
the first commandment. Thou shall have no
other Gods before 77ie, he is taught by this,
that he is commanded to serve, love, adore
and worship one only true living and eter-
nal God, and no more; that it is forbidden
him to worship any creature for a God, or
to give it the honour due to God; and that
whosoever worships any idols, images, pic-
tures, or any graven thing, whatsoever the
object be, whether in heaven above, in the
earth beneath, or iia the waters under the
earth, for God, breaks the commandment,
by committing idolatry, and stands guilty
of an inexcusable and most damnable sin.
Now having been taught that this is the
intent of the first precept of the decalogue,
he thinks there can be but little danger of
his becoming superstitious in his worship,
or an idolater, for want of the second;
there being nothing in this but what he is
fully and expressly instructed in, by having
learned the first;, it being rather an- expli-
cation of this than any new and distinct
precept, and for this reason he finds them
in his books j)ut together as one, or rather
as the first commandment, with its cxplicu
7

74 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

tion, by which means it comes about that
there are only three in the first table, teach-
ing him his ^uty towards God; and seven
in the latter, concerning his duty to his
neighbour, which is the division assigned
by St. Augustine. And though St. Jerome
observes not this method, but divides thera
into four and six; yet there being no direc-
tion in scripture concerning the number of
the commandments to be assigned to each
table, nor to let us know which is the first,
which the second, which the third com-
mandment, or which the last commandment;
he is taught that it is but an unnecessary
trouble to concern himself about the num-
ber or division of them, when his whole
business ought to be the observance of them
in his life and conversation.

OF MENTAL RESERVATIONS.

The Papist misrepresenled is taught to
keep no faith with any that are reputed
heretics by his Church, and that whatever
promise he has made, though ever so posi-
tive and firm, with this sort of people, he
may lawfully break, and cheat and cozen
them without any scruple; and though he
must not do this by downright lying and
idling untruths, for this would be a sin,
yet he may make use of any indirect ways,
such as dissimulations, equivocationsj and

ATiD REPRESENTED. 75

mental reservations, and by these means
draw them into his snares; and this with-
out fear of offending God, who is well
pleased with these kinds of pious crafts,
and allows of these holy cheats.

The Papist truly represented is taught to
keep faith with all sorts of people, of what-
soever judgment or persuasion they be,
whether in communion with his Church or
not; he is taught to stand to his word, and
observe his promise given or made to any
whatsoever; and that he cannot cheat or
cozen, whether by ^ dissembling, equivoca-
tion, or mental reservation, without defi-
ance of his own conscience, and the viola-
tion of God's law. This is the instruction-
he receives from the pulpit, the confessio-
nal, and his books of direction, and nothing
is more inculcated in his Church than sin-
cerity and truth. But as to the doctrine
and practice of equivocations and mental
reservations, so far from being approved
by his Church, he fmds it expressly cen-
sured by Pope Innocent XI. in a decree
issued forth March 2, 1679, prohibiting the
teaching or maintaining of it, under pain
of excommunication. He is taught there-
fore to speak plainly and sincerely, without
any such artifices, which cannot but be
very injurious to all society, and displeas-
ing to the first truth. And now if any

76 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

authors in communion with his Church be
produced as patrons and abettors of these
mental juggles, let them hold up their hands
and answer for themselves; their Church
has approved of no such doctrine, and is no
more to be charged with their particular
opinions than with the unexemplary lives
of other of her members, whose irregula-
rities are not at all derived from their reli-
gion, but from following their own corrupt
inclinations, and giving way to the temp-
tation of the enemy.

OF A DBATH-BED REPENTANCE.

The Papist misrepresented h bred up in a
total neglect of the service of God, and of
all virtue and devotion, while he is well
and in good health, upon presumption of a
death-bed repentance, and a confidence that
all his sins will certainly be forgiven, if he
can but once say Lord have mercy upon
me at the last hour. And it is a sufficient
encouragment to him to rely wholly upon
this, to see that there is no such proHigate
villain, none that has lived though to the
height of wickedness and debauchery in his
communion, but at his death he shall be
assisted by a priest, and shall receive aa
absolution from all his sins, with an abso-
lute promise of being soon admitted to blisSy
and reigning with Christ, if he can but once

AND REPRESENTED. 77

say he is sorry, or if his voice fail him,
signify as much by a nod of his head or
the motion of his fingers.

The Papist Iruhj represented is bred up in
the service and love of God; taught to work
out his salvation with fear and trembling;
to provide in time of health against the
last hour, and by no means to rely upon
a death-bed repentance; for that as men
(generally speaking) live, so they die, and
it is to be feared greatly, that those who
neglect God Almighty, and forsake him
all their life-time, will never find him at
their death; so that (with St. Augustine)
he doubts the salvation of as many as defer
their conversion till that hour. However,
if any be found that have been so neglect-
ful of their duty, as to put off this great
business of eternity t-o the last moment, he
is taught that in charity they ought to have
all assistance possible to put them in mind
of their condition, to excite them to a de-
testation of all their offences; to let them
know that though they deserve hell-fire in
punishment for their wickedness, yet they
ought by no means to despair, for that
God is merciful, and who knows but if they
heartily call upon him, and endeavour by
sincere repentance, with an humble confi-
dence in the merits and passion of Jesus
Christ, he may hear their prayers, show

78 A PAPIST MISnEPRESENTED'

them mercy, and give them time to repent.
These are all the promises tliat can be
given in this point, and this is what he sees
daily practised, and if some by these means
are [)reserved from falling into despair it is
well; but as for any receiving from hence
encouragement of coming into the like cir-
cumstances, he thinks there is but little
danger, especially since there is nothing so
often repeated in books, no more common
subjects for sermons, than the displaying
the manifold perils of delaying one's con-
version, and putting off repentance till the
last hour.

OF FASTING.

The Papist misrepresented is contented
with the appearance of devotion, and look-
ing not beyond the name of mortification,
he sits down well satisfied with the shadow,
without ever taking care for the substance.
And thus being a great pretender to fasting
and the denial of himself, he thinks he has
sufficiently complied with his duty in this
point, and made good his claim, if he has
but abstained from flesh; and though at the
same time he regales himself at once with
all variety of the choicest fish, and stuffs
himself with the best conserves and most
delicate junkets, and drinks all day the
pleasantest Avines and other liquors; yet

ANT) REPRESENTED. 79"

he persuades^ himself that he is a truly
mortified man, and that he has d^ne a work
of great force, in order to the suppressing
his corrupt inclinations, and satisfying for
the offences of his past life. Nay, he has
such a preposterous conceit of things, that
he helieves it is a greater sin to eat the
least bit of flesh on a fasting day, than ta
be downright drunk, or to commit any other
excess, as having less scruple of breaking
the commandments of God, than of violat-
ing any ordinance of the Pope, or any law
of his Church.

The Papist truly represented is taught by
his Church that the appearance of devotion,
the name of mortification, and pretence to
it, are only vain and fruitless things, if
they are not accompanied with the sub-
stance; and that it is but a very lame com-
pliance with the ecclesiastical precept of
fasting, to abstain from flesh, unless all
other excesses are at the same time care-
fully avoided. It is true his Church has
not forbidden on these days the drinking
of wine, but permits a moderate use of it,.
as at other times, but is so far from giving
liberty to any of her flock, of committing
excesses, that she declares drunkenness and
all gluttony whatsoever, to be more heinous
and sandalous sins on such days than on
any other; they being expressly contrary,,

€0 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

not only to the law of God, but also to ihe
intention of the Church, which appoints
these times for the retrenching debauche-
ries, and conquering our vicious appetites
And now, if any of his profession make less
scruple of being drunk on a fasting day,
than of eating the least bit of flesh, he
knows nothing more can be said of them
than of many of another communion, who
will not break the sabbath day by doing
any servile work on it, for all the world,
looking on this as a most damning sin, and
yet at the same time have but little scruple
of swearing, cursing, lying, or revelling
the greatest part of the day, which is not
because they have nTore libei'ty for these
than the former, they being all most wick-
ed offences; but because they that do thus
are but Christians by halves, who with a
kind of Pharisaical and partial obedience,
seem to bear some of the commandments
most zealously in their hearts, whilst they
trample others under their feet; scrupling
many times at a moat, and on other occa-
sions passing by a beam undiscerned; for
which their Church is not to be account-
able, but they themselves, as being guilty
of a wilful blindness, and a most unchris-
tian negligence. This is the real case of
such of his communion, who, on days of
humiliation, whilst they abstain from flesh,
yet give scandal by their intemperance.

AND REPRESENTED. 81

They have a command of God, by which
they are obliged on all days to live soberly,
and to avoid all gluttony and drunkenness,
and on fasting days, besides this command
of God, they have a Church precept, by
which they are bound, if able, to eat but
one meal in a day, and that not of flesh.
And now if some are so ignorant and care-
less as to be scrupulously observant of one
of these commands, and wholly negligent
of the other, it is not because their religion
teaches them to do so, (which detests and
condemns all such scandalous partiality,
and complying with their duty by halves)
but because they shut their ears to all good
instruction, and choose rather to follow their
own corrupt appetites, than the wholesome
doctrine of their Church.

OF DIVISIONS AND SCHISMS IN THE CHURCH.

The Papist misrepresented is of a religion
in which there are a3 many schisms as
families; and they are so divided in their
opinions, that commonly, as many as meet
in company, so many different tenets are
maintained. Hence arise their infinite and
endless disputes, and the disagreement of
their divines, who pretend to give a true
and solid explication of the mysteries of the
Christian faith, and yet differ in as many
points as they write of. Besides, what

8^ A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

variety of judgments are there in their re^
ligious houses and cloisters, no one agree-
ing with another in their foundation, insti-
tution, and profession, this being of the re-
ligion of St. Dominic, that of St. Francis, a
third of St. Bernard, others of St. Benedict,
and so on without number, so that there
are as many religions as orders. And yet
they pretend to Christian unity^ amidst this
diversity growing upon them every day.

The Papist truly represented is of a reli-
gion in which there are no schisms or sepa-
rations, all the members of it, however
spread throughout the world, agreeing like
one man in every article of their faith, by
an equal submission to the determination
of their Church; and no one of them, though
most learned and wise, ever followed any
other rule of their' faith besides this, of
assenting to all that the Church of God,
planted by Christ, and assisted and protect-
ed by the Holy Ghost, proposes to the faith-
fi-il, to be believed as the doctrine of the apos-
tles, and received as^ such in all ages :. that
is, all unanimously believe as the Church
of God believes; no one of his communion
ever doubting of this, or scrupling to re-
ceive any thing after his Church's declara^
tion. And now, though they all thus con-
spire in every point of faith, yet there is a
great diversity among schoolmen in their

AND REPRESENTED. 8^

divinity points, and opinions of such mat-
ters as are no articles of faith, and which
never being defined by their Church, may
be maintained severally, either this or that
way, without any breach of faith, or injury
to their religion; and of these things only
they dispute, and have their debates in
manner of a school-exercise, without any
disagreement at all in their belief, but with
a perfect unity. The like unity is there
amongst their religious orders, all of which
say the same creed, own the same authority
in the Church of Christ, and in every thing
profess the same faith, and have no other
differences than as it were of so many steps
or degrees in the practice of a devout and
holy life: some being of a more severe and
strict discipline, others of a more gentle
and moderate; some spending more time in
praying, olhors more in watching, others
more in fasting. Some being intended for
the catechising and breeding up of youth,
others for taking care of hospitals and look-
ing after the sick; others for going among
infidels, and preaching to them the gospel
of Christ, and for suck like pious and chris-
tian designs, to the greater glory and hon-
our of God. Which dif!ercnces make no
other difference in the several professions
than there was between Mary and Martha,
who expressed their love and service to
Iheir Lord in a very different employ, but

84 A PAPIST ]VI1SREPRESE?ITED

both commcndably, and without any dan-
ger of prejudicing the unity of their faith.

OF FRIARS AND NUNS.

The Papist misrepresented is taught to
have a high esteem for those of his own
communion, who cloistering themselves up,
become Friars and Nuns, a sort of people
who call themselves religious, and are no-
thing but religious cheats; under the cloak
of piety and pretence to devotion, deceiving
the world, and living to the height of wick-
edness, under the notion of saints.

The Papist truly represented is taught to
have a high esteem for those of his com-
munion, who undertake that sort of life,
which, according to Christ's own direction,
and his apostles, is pointed out as the best:
a sort of people who endeavour to perform
all that God has commanded, and also what
he has confessed as the better, and in order
to more perfection. They hear Christ de-
claring the danger of riches, they therefore
embrace a voluntary poverty, and lay aside
all titles to wealth and possessions. St.
Paul preaches, that he that giveth not his
virgin in marriage, doth better than he that
does; and that she that is unmarried, cares
for the things of the Lord, how she may
be holy both in body and in spirit; they

AJJD REPRESENTED. 85

therefore choose a single state, consecrating
their virginity to God, that so they may be
wholly intent on his service, and careful
how to please him; — while she that is mar-
ried careth for the things of the world, how
she may please her husband. (1 Cor. vii. 32,
33, 34, 38.) The gospel proclaims, that
those that will follow Christ, must deny
themselves; they therefore renounce their
own wills, and without respect to their own
proper inclinations, pass their life in perpet-
ual obedience. And because the world is
so corrupt, that to a pious soul every busi-
ness is a distraction, every diversion a
temptation, and more frequently the pro-
vocations to evil, than examples to good;
they therefore retire from it as much as
possible, and confining themselves to a little
corner or cell, apply themselves wholly to
devotion, making prayer their business, the
service of God their whole employ, and the
salvation of their souls their only design.
And now, if in these retirements, where
every thing is so ordered as to be most
advantageous for the promoting of virtue
and devotion, and nothing permitted that
is likely to prove a disturbance to godli-
ness, or allurement to evil, some (for, God be
praised, it is far from being the case of the
generality,) live scandalously, and give ill
example to the world, what can be said, bu*
that no state can secure any man, and that
8

86 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

no such provision can be made in order to
a holy life, but may be abused? But yet
he does not think that such abuses, and the
viciousncss of some, can be argument enough
to any just and reasonable man, to condenin
the whole, and the institution itself. Is
not marriage abused an infinite number of
ways, and many forced to embrace this
state, or at least to accept of such particuh'ir
persons, contrary to their own choice and
liking? Is there any state in this world,
any condition, trade, calling, profession, de-
gree, or dignity whatsoever, which is not
abused by some? Are churches exempt
from abuses? Are not bibles and the word
of God abused: Is not Christianity itself
abused, and even the mercy of God abused?
If, therefore, there is nothing so sacred or
divine in the whole world, which wicked
and malicious men do not pervert to their
ill designs, to the high dishonour of God,
and their own damnation, how can any one,
upon the mere consideration of some abuses,
pass sentence of condemnation against a
thing which otherwise is good and holy? —
It is an undeniable truth, that to embrace a
life exempt, as much as can be, from the
turmoils of the world; and in a quiet retire-
ment to dedicate one's self to the service of
God, and spend one's days in prayer and
contemplation, is a most commendable un-
dertaking, and very becoming a Christian*

1

AND REPRESENTED. 87

And yet, if some who enter upon such a
course of life as this, fall short of what they
pretend, and instead of becoming eminent
in virtue and godliness, by their unexem-
plary lives prove a scandal to their profes-
sion— is this rule and institution to be con-
demned, or rather they who swerve from
it? No: let not the dignity of an apostle
suffer for the fall of Judas, nor the com-
mandments lie under an as[)orsion upon the
account of those that break them.

OF WICKED PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES.

The Papist misrepresented is member of a
church which is called holy, but in her doc-
trine and practices so foul and abominable,
that whosoever admires her for sanctity,
may upon the same grounds do homage to
vice itself. Has ever any society, since
Christy's time appeared so black and de-
formed with hellish crimes as she? Has
she not outdone even the most barbarous
nations and infidels with her impieties, and
drawn a scandal upon the name of Chris-
tian by her unparalleled vices? Take but
a view of the horrid practices she has been
engaged in; consider the French and Irish
massacres, the murders of Henry HI. and
IV. kings of France, the Holy League, the
Gunpowder Treason, the cruelty of Queen
Mary, the firing of London, the death of

88 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

Sir Edmundbury Godfrey, — and an infinite
number of other such like devilish con-
trivances; and then tell me, whether that
church which has been the author and pro-
moter of such barbarous designs, ought to
be esteemed holy, and respected for piety
and religion, or rather to be condemned for
the mistress of iniquity, the whore of Baby-
lon, which hath polluted the earth with her
wickedness, and taught nothing but the doc-
trine of devils? — i^nd let never so many
pretences be made, yet it is evident that all
these execrable practices have been done
according to the known principles of this
holy church, and that her greatest patrons,
the most learned of her divines, her most
eminent bishops, her prelates, cardinals,
and even the popes themselves, have been
the chief managers of these hellish contri-
vances. And what more convincing argu-
m.cnt that they are all well proved, than
that they are conformable to the religion
taught by their church.

The Papist tnilij represented is a member
of a Church, which, according to the ninth
article of the Apostles's Creed, he believes
to be holy, and this not only in name, but
also in doctrine; and for witnesses of her
sanctity he appeals to her councils, cate-
chisms, pulpits, and spiritual books of direc-
tion, in which the main design is^ to in>

AND REPRESENTED. 89

print in the hearts of the faithful this com-
prehensive maxim of Christianity, that they
ought to love God ahove all things, with
their whole heart and soul, and their neigh-
hour as themselves; and that none should
flatter themselves with a confidence to be
saved by faith alone, without living soberly,
justly, and piously, as it is taught in the
Council of Trent, Sess, 6. c. 11. So that
he doubts not but that as many as live ac-
cording to the direction of his Church, in
observance of her doctrine, live holily in
the service and fear of God, and with an
humble confidence in the merits and pas-
sion of their Redeemer, may hope to be
received after this life into eternal bliss.
But that all in communion with this Church
do not live thus holily, and in the fear of
God, he knows to be too evident, there being
many in all places, wholly forgetful of their
duty, giving themselves up to vice, and
guilty of most horrid crimes. And though
he is not bound to believe all to be true that
is charged upon them by their adversaries,
there being no narrative of any such devil-
ish contrivances and practices laid to them,
wherein passion and fury have not made
great additions; wherein things dubiou.-s arc
not improved into certainties, suspicions in-
to realities, fears and jealousies into sub-
stantial plots, and downright lies and re-
corded perjuries inlo pnlj)it, nay gospel

^0 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

truths; yet he really thinks that there have
been men of his profession of every rank
and degree, learned and unlearned, high
and low, secular and ecclesiastic, that have
been scandalous in their lives, wielded in
their designs, without the fe&r of God in
their hearts, or care of their own salvation.
But what then? Is the whole Church to
be condemned for the vicious lives of some
of her professors; and her doctrine to stand
guilty of as many villanies as those com-
mit who neglect to follow it? If so, let the
men of that society, judgment, or persua-
sion, who are not in the like circumstances,
fling the first stone. Certainly if this way
of passing sentence be once allowed as just
and reasonable, there never was, nor ever
will be, any religion or Church of God
upon earth. A confident undertaker would
find no difficulty in proving this, especially
if he had btit the gift of exaggerating son^e
things, misrepresenting others, finding au-
thors foT every idle story, chargrng the
extravagant opinions of evei-y single writer
upon the religion they profess, raking to-
gether all the wickedness, cruekies, treach-
eries, plots, conspiracies, at any time com-
mitted, by ambitious desperadoes, or wicked
villains, and then positively asserting, that
what these did was according to the doc-
trine of that Church of which they were
members,* and that the true measures of

I

AND REPRESENTED. 91

the sanctity and goodness of the Church in
whose communion these men were, may be
justly taken from the behaviour of such
offenders. But certainly no man of reason
or conscience can allow of such proceed-
ings. No sober man would ever go to
Newgate or Tyburn to know what is the
religion professed in England according to
law J nor would he look into all the sinks,
Jakes, dunghills, and common sewers about
town, from such a prospect to give a true
description of the city. Why therefore
should the character of the Church of
Rome and her doctrine be taken only from
the loose behaviour and wicked crimes of
such, who are in communion with her, yet
live not according to her direction? She
teaches holiness of life, mercy to the poor,
loyalty and obedience to princes, and the
necessity of keeping the commandments;
witness the many books of devotion and
direction made English for public benefit,
written originally by Papists; and great
numbers there are, God be praised, who
practise this in their lives. And now if
there be many also who stop their ears to
good instruction, and following the sugges-
tion of tlieir own ungoverned appetites, of
pride, ambition, covetousness, luxury, 6zc.
who lay aside all concern of salvation, and
become so antichristian both to God and
their neighbour, that they are a shame ta

\f4 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

their profession; why should the Church be
represented according to the wickedness of
those that neglect her doctrine, and not ra-
ther by the piety and exemplary lives of
such as follow it? Let the character of the
Church be given according to what she teach-
es, and not according to the writings of every
positive opiniator, or the practice of every
wicked liver, and there is no fear of its
coming out so ugly and deformed. — Neither
let any one pretend to demonstrate the faith
and principles of Papists, by the works of
every divine in their communion, or by the
actions of every bishop, cardinal, or pope,
which are not any rule of their faith. They
own that many of their writers are too loose
in their opinions; that all bishops and car-
dinals are not so edifying as becomes their
state, and that Popes also may have their
failings. But what then? The actions of
Popes concern not the faith of those who
are in communion with them; they may
throw a scandal indeed upon their religion,
but they can never alter its creed. But
what need of any other return to the nume-
rous clamours made daily against the wick-
edness of the Papists? It is a sufficient
vindication of their chief pastors and popes,
to use the words of Lord Castlemain in
his apology, that amiOng two hundred and
fifty that have now successively borne the
charge, there are not above ten or twelve

AND KEPKESENTED. 93

against whom their most malicious adver-
saries can find occasion of spitting their
venom; and that a challenge may be made
to the world, to show but the first part of
so many successive governors, since the
creation, of which there have not been far
more that have abused their power. And
as for their flock, and people owning this au-
thority, it is true that many wicked things
have been done by some of them; and too
many like libertines neglect the care of
their fold, but, however, the generality of
them live like Christians; few come to
them, but with their religion they change
also their manners for the better; few desert
them but such who seem to be fallen out
with all Christianity; and whoever looks
into any of our neighbouring popish towns,
as Paris, Antwerp, Ghent, &c. will find in
any one of them more praying, more fast-
ing, more receiving the sacraments, more
visiting of prisoners and the sick, more
alms-giving, than in any ten towns of the
Reformation.

OF MIRACLES.

The Papist misrepresented is so given up
to the belief of idle stories and ridiculous
inventions in favour of saints, which he
calls miracle:^, that nothing can be related
ever so absurd; foolish, or almost impossible,

9^i A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED *

but it gains credit with him; and he is
so credulously confident of the truth of
them, that there is no difference to him
betwi'xt these tales and wliat he reads in
scripture.

The Papist truly represented is not obliged

to believe any one miracle besides what is

in the scriptuTe, and to aU others^ he may

give the credit which in prudence he thinks

they deserve, considering tl>e honesty of

the relator, the authority of the witnesses,

and such other circumstances, which on the

like occasions use to gain his assent. And

now if upon the account of mere history,

and the consent of authors, none make any

doubt but that there was such a one as

Ccesar, Alexander, Mahomet, Luther, &c.

or of many particulars of their lives and

actions, why should he doubt the truth of

many miracles which have not only the

like consent of authors and history, but also

have been attested by a great number of

eye-witnesses, examined by authority, and

found upon record with all the formalities

due to such a process? St. Augustine re-

\ lates many miracles done in his time, so

-jj' does St. Jerome, and other fathers, and if

|! they doubted nothing of them then, why

»m! should he question the truth of them now?

.'♦■; He finds that in the time of the old law,

5? God favoured many of his servants by

h

.11

II

AND REPRESENTED. f)5

working miracles by their hands, and he
thinks that God's hand is not shortened
now; that the disciples of Christ are no less
favourites of heaven than those of Moses,
and that the new law may be very well
allowed to be as glorious, and as particu-
larly privileged as the old, especially since
Christ promised that they that believed
in him should do greater miracles than
ever he himself had done, {John xiv. 1.2.)
And what if some miracles recounted by
authors are so wonderfully strange as to
seem to some ridiculous and absurd, are
they less true upon this account? Is not
every thing ridiculous to unbelievers?. The
whole doctrine of Christ is a scandal to the
Jews, and a folly to the Gentiles. And
what more absurd to one that wants faith
than the miracles recounted in the Old Tes-
tament? Might not such a one turn them
all into ridicule and buffoonery? Take but
faith away, and what becomes of Balaam
and his ass, Sampson and his jaw bone,
Elias and his fiery chariot, Elisha's mantle,
axe-head, and dead bones, Gideon's pitchers,
lamps, and trumpets, the fall of the walls
of Jericho, Moses' holding up his hands for
the victory over his enemies, his parting of
the Red >Sea,. and Joshua commanding the
sun to stand still, &:c. Might not these and
all the rest be pointed out as ridiculous as
any supposed to be done since Christ's tinie?i"

4

90 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

A little incredulity, accompanied with a pre-
sumption of measuring God's works by hu
man wisdom, will really make the greatest
part of them pass for follies and absurd im
possibilities. And though he is so far from
giving equal assent to the miracles related
in scripture, and the others wrought since,
that the former he believes with a divine
faith, and the rest with an inferior kind of
assent, according to the grounds and au-
thority there is m favour of them, like as
he does in profane history; yet the strange-
ness of these never makes him in the least
doubt of the truth of them, since it is evi-
dent to him that all the works of heaven
far surpass all his reasoning, and that while
he endeavours but to look even into the
very ordinary things daily wrought by
God Almighty, he quite loses himself, and
is bound to confess his own ignorance and
folly, and that God is wonderful in all his
works, a God surpassing all our knowledge.
Whatever therefore is related upon good
grounds, as done by the extraordinary pow-
er of God, he is ready to assent to it, al-
though he sees neither the how, the why,
nor the wherefore; being ready to attribute
all to the honour and praise of his Maker,
to whose omnipotent hand poor man's im-
possibilities are none.

AND REPRESENTED. 97

OF HOLY WATER.

The Papist misrepresented highly ap-
proves the superstitious use of many inani-
mate things, and attributes wonderful effects
to such creatures, which are in a very in-
ferior rank, and able to do no such things.
Holy water is in great esteem with him,
so are blessed candles, holy oil, &c. in all
which he puts so much confidence, that by
the power of these he thinks himself secure
from w^itchcraft, enchantment, and all the
power of the devil.

The Papist truly represented utterly dis-
approves all sorts of superstition, and yet
is taught to have an esteem for holy water,
blessed candles, and holy oil, not doubting
but that such men as have consecrated
themselves to the service of God in the
preaching the gospel, and administration of
the sacraments, have a particular respect
due to them above the laity, as churches
dedicated to God are otherwise to be looked
on than other dwelling-houses; so likewise
other creatures which are particularly de-
puted by the prayers and blessings of the
priest to certain uses for God's own glory,
and the spiritual and corporal good of
Christians, ought to be respected in a de-
gree above other common things; and what
superstition is there in the use of them?
9

98 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

Has not God himself described such inani-
mate things, and holy men made use of
them for an intent above their natural
powers,. and this without any superstition?
\Vas there superstition in the waters of
jealousy, (Niifn. v. 17.) or in the salt used
by Elisha for sweetening the infected wa-
ters? Was it superstition in Christ to use
clay for opening the eyes of the blind; or
in the apostles to make use of oil for curing
the sick? {Mark vi. l^.). And though there
be no express command in scripture for
blessing water, candles, &c. yet there is
this assurance that every creature is sancti-
fied hy the icord of God and j^rayer, (1 Tim.
iv. 5.) and frequent promises that God will
hear the prayers of the faithful. Why
therefore should he doubt but that these
creatures on which the blessing of God is
solemnly implored by the word of God, and
the prayers of the priest and people, for
their sanctification, are really sanctified,
according to the assurance of the apostle,
and the promises of God? St. Cyril of
Jerusalem, who lived in the beginning of
the fourth century, made no question but
that, as those things that are offered to
idols, though pure in their own nature, are
made impure by the invocation of devils;
so, on the contrary, simple water is made
holy, and gets a sanctity, by virtue received
from the invocation of the Holy Ghost, of

J

AND REPRESENTED. 99

Christ our Lord, and his eternal Father.
Cyr, Catech. And that the blessed water
was capable, by virtue received from heav-
en, of working effects above its own nature,
was certainly the sentiments of the Chris-
tians in the primitive times. St. Epiphanius,
(torn. 2. I. \.cont, Hcer. 30.) relates a passage
at length, how water being blessed in the
name of Jesus, and sprinkled upon fire,
which by witchcraft was made inactive,
and hindered from burning, immediately
the enchantment ceased, and the fire burn-
ed; as also, that a possessed person being
sprinkled with blessed water, was imme-
diately cured. Theodoret has the like nar-
rative of the devil hindering fire from burn-
ing, and how he was chased away, and the
charm dissolved by blessed water being
thrown on it, lib. 5. Eccles. Hist. c. 21. And
St. Jerome relates, in Yit, Hilarion, how
Italicus took water from blessed Hilarion,
and cast it on his bewitched horses, his
chariot, and the barriers from which they
used to run, and that the charms of witch-
cry did cease upon the sprinkling of this
water, so that all cried out, Marnus victus
est a C/u'lsto, Christ has conquered Marnus
the idol. And now, there is no jeering or
ridiculing those things, that will ever make
them look like idle superstitions, to one that
considers seriously how much they are
grounded upon reason, tlie word of God,

100 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

»fir»o^

antiquity, and the authority and practice
of the Catholic Church, which approves the
use of them, yet so as plainly to teach that
there is no confidence to be put in any
thing, but only in Jesus Christ; and that
whatever power these things have, they
have it not of themselves, but only from
heaven, and by the invocation of the name
of Jesus, who, as by his heavenly blessings
he enables us to do things above the power
of nature, so also, by the prayers of his
Church, he blesses these things in order to
the working effects above their own natural
qualities, that by them his fatherly benefits
may be applied to us, and that so the faith-
ful may more particularly honour and bless
him in all his creatures.

OF BREEDING UP PEOPLE IN IGNORANCE.

The Papist misrepresented is trained up
in ignorance; and it is the chief means
made use of by his Church for preserving
men in that communion, to hide from them
the manifold mysteries of iniquity, her sot-
tish superstitions, her unchristian doctrines,
by performing all in unknown tongues, and
not permitting the poor misled people to
look into or understand any thing that they
believe or profess. And by this blindness
they are persuaded to embrace such infinite
numbers of gross errors, that were but the

AND REPRESENTED. 101

veil taken from their eyes but for one half
hour, and they but permitted to have one
fair prospect of their religion, thousands
and thousands would daily desert her, and
come over to the truth.

The Papist truly represented has all the
liberty, encouragement, and convenience of
becoming learned, of any people or persua-
sion whatsoever. And none that has ever
looked over any library, but has found that
the greatest number and choicest books of
all sciences have had men of his communion
for their authors; none, that in his travels
has taken a thorough view of the universi-
ties in Popish countries, of Paris, Louvain,
Salamanca, Bologna, &c. and considered
their laborious studies in philosophy, divin-
ity, history, the fathers, councils, scriptures,
&c. — and, besides the students here, has
seen how many thousands there are in re-
ligious houses, who, free from the disturb-
ances of the world, make virtue and learn-
ing the business of their whole life, will
ever lay ignorance to the charge of the
Papists, but must in justice confess, that
amongst them are to be found as many and
as good scholars as amongst any people or
societies in the world. And as for the vul-
gar or common sort of that profession^
though they understand not Latin, yet they
are not trained up in ignorance of their

102 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

religion, nor led along in blindness, but are
so well provided with books, in their own
mother tongue, of instruction and devotion,
wherein are explained the whole duty of a
Christian, every mystery of their faith, and
all the offices and ceremonies performed in
the Church, that they must be very negli-
gent, or else have very mean parts, who do
not arrive at a sufficient knowledge of their
obligation in every respect. And whoever
has seen the great pains and care some good
men take abroad in explaining on Sundays
and holy days, in their churches, and on
week-days in the streets, the Christian doc-
trine to the crowds of the ignorant and
meaner sort of people, not omitting to re-
ward such as answer w-eW ^vith some small
gifts, to encourage youth, and provoke them
to commendable emulation, will never say
that the Papists keep the poor people in
ignorance, and hide from them their reli-
gion; but rather that they use all means for
instructing the ignorant, and omit nothing
that can any way conduce to the breeding
up of youth in the knowledge of their faith,
and letting them see into the religion they
are to profess. Neither does it seem to him
even so much as probable, tiiat if the Church
offices and services, &c. were performed in
the vulgar tongue, that upon this the now
ignorant people would immediately discover
so many idle superstitions, senseless devo*

AND REPRESENTED. 103

tions, and gross errors, that they would in
great numbers, upon the sight, become de-
serters of that communion of which they
are now professed members. For since
there is nothing done but in a language
which the learned, judicious, and leading
men of all nations every where understand,
and yet these espy nothing to fright them
from their faith; but notwithstanding the
seeing all through and through, they yet
admire all for solid, holy, and apostolical,
and remain stedfast in their profession —
how can it be imagined that the vulgar,
weak, and unlearned sort, did they under-
stand all as well as they, w^ould espy any
such errors and superstitions, which these
others, with all their learning and judg-
ment, cannot discover? No, — he thinks
there is no reason to fear that what passes
the test among the wise and learned, can
be groundedly called in question by the
multitude.

OF THE UNCHARITABLENESS OF THE PAPISTS.

The Papist mlsrcpresenlcd is taught by
his Church to be very uncharitable, and to
damn all that arc not of his persuasion, —
so that let persons be ever so just in their
dealings, ever so charitable to the poor, ever
so constant in their devotions, — though they
^coofcss Jesus Christ, and believe his incar-

104 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

nation, passion, resurrection, and ascension,
yet if they are not in the communion of
his Church, or if they disbelieve any one
article declared by any of his general coun-
cils, he marks them out for schismatics and
heretics, and sends them to hell without
mercy.

The Papist truly represented is taught by
his Church to have a universal charity for
all mankind; to wish well to all, to pray for
all, to exercise both the corporal and spiri-
tual works of mercy, according to his abil-
ity, to all of what persuasion soever. But
then charity and truth are not to be sepa-
rated; and it would be a false charity to
promise heaven to any of those whom the
word of God condemns to hell. Hence he
thinks it no part of the duty of charity to
judge favourably of the salvation of any
of those who die in mortal sin unrepented
of; for such a judgment as this would do
them no service, and would hurt himself.
Now if we believe plain scripture, and the
universal tradition of the fathers, and all
antiquity, — heresy and schisms are mortal
sins; and therefore, in saying that heretics
and schismatics are out of the state of sal-
vation, his judgment is not uncharitable,
because he advances nothing but a scripture
truth. St. -Paul in plain terms declares the
$au)e, {Galat, v. 20, 21.) where he reckons

t

J

AND REPRESENTED. 105

sects and heresies among those sins of which
he pronounces that they that do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Nor
is he uncharitable in thinking those guilty
of heresy that obstinately refuse to believe
any part of the divine revelation; or those
guilty of schism, that wilfully separate them-
selves from the communion of the Church,
and refuse a due subordination to its pastors,
since scripture and all antiquity give no
other definition of heresy and schism.

In what then are Papists uncharitable?
Is it because they charge all with heresy
and schism that arc not in their commu-
nion? No; for they except all those whose
being out of their communion is owing, not
to any obstinacy^ carelessness, ivorldly inte-
rest, or human respect, — but purely to their
being deprived of the means of knowing
the truth, which they would gladly em-
brace if they knew it; for such as these in
the desire and disposition of their souls are
in the Church, and therefore are neither
heretics nor schismatics. Or are they un-
charitable in restraining the whole Church
of Christ to one communion, and believing
that to be their own? No: for nothing
is more evident in scripture; nothing is
more unanimously received by all antiquity
as a first principle in our religion, than
that the Church of Christ can be but one,
cno fold, under one shepherd, one body,

106 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

one spouse, one house, one city, one king
dom, and consequently one society, united
in one faith, and in one communion, at first
established by Christ and his blessed apos-
tles, and descending by an uninterrupted
succession from them, ever one, holy, ca-
tholic and apostolical; and that the wilful
breaking off from this original communion
is the crime of schism, as the departing
fiNDm its faith is the crime of heresy. So
that it is evident that many sects, disagree-
ing in faith, and divided in communion,
cannot compose the one, holy, catholic, and
apostolical church of Christ; and thei^fore
it cannot be uncharitable to maintain that
the whole Church is but one in communion.
And as all the marks of the Church agree
to no other communion but his, it cannot be
uncharitable in the Papist to believe that
his Church is the true Church of Christ, and
upon this conviction to invite all to her com-
munion. For she alone has an uninterrup-
ted succession of her pastors from the apos-
tles of Christ, — She alone has always been
one, by her members professing one faith,
in one communion, under one chief pastor,
succeeding St. Peter, to whom Christ com-
mitted the charge of his whole flock, (John
xxi. 15, &c.) and the keys of heaven. (Matt.
xvi. 19.) She alone has been always holy,
and teaching all holiness, by inviting all to
holiness, by affording all helps -and means

r

AND REPRESENTED. 107

of "holiness, and by having in all ages in-
numerable holy ones in her communion.
She alone is catholic or universal, by sub-
sisting in all ages by teaching all nations,
and by maintaining all truths. She alone
is apostolical, hy deriving her doctrine, her
communion, her orders and mission from
the apostles of Christ. She alone has con-
verted infidel nations with their kings to
the faith of Christ; and to this day sends
her priests and missionaries into all parts
of the world, to propagate the kingdom of
Christ. — She alone has been in all ages
illustrated by innumerable miracles, and by
the wonderful lives and deaths of innumer-
able saints. — All other sects began by sepa-
rating from her; their first teachers went
out from her, and had before acknowledged
her authority; they were all censured by
her at their first appearance; but she never
departed or separated from any more an-
cient church, or was ever censured by any
lawful authority. In a word, she is the
great body of Christians, descending from
the primitive Apostolical Church, conse-
quently she is the One, Holy, Catholic, and
Apostolical Church.

OF INNOVATIONS IN MATTERS OF FAITH.

The Popish Church as misrepresented has
nwde several innovations in matters of laith;

lOS

A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

and howsoever she lays claim to antiquity,
with a pretence of having preserved the doc-
trine of the apostles inviolable and entire,
yet it is evident to any serious observer,
that the greatest part of her belief is mere
novelties, not bearing date from Christ or
his apostles, but only from some of her
more modern synods, there scarce having
passed any age yet, wherein there has not,
in these ecclesiastical mints, been coined
new articles, which with the counterfeit
stamp of Christ and his apostles, are made
to pass for good and current amongst her
credulous and undiscerning retainers. And
besides these, what a great number of errors
have been introduced at other times; how
many did Pope Gregory bring in, and how
many the ignorance of the tenth age? So
that if we compare the Church of Rome
now, with the primitive times of the first
throe or four hundred years, there are no
two things so unlike; she is a garden now,
but quite overgrown with weeds; she is a
field, but where the tares have perfectly
choked up the wheat, and has little in her
apostolical besides the name.

The Papist's Church truly represented has
never made any innovations in matters of
faith; what she believes and teaches now
being the same that the Catholic Church be-
lieved and taught in the first three or four

AND REPRESENTED. 109

centuries after the apostles. — And though
in most of her general councils there have
been several decisions touching points of
faith, yet can no one, without an injury to
truth, say that in any of these have been
coined new articles, or Christians forced
to the acceptance of novelties, contrary to
scripture or ancient tradition. They have
only trodden in the apostles' steps, as of-
ten as they have been in like circumstan-
ces with them, doing exactly according to
the form and example left to the Church
by those perfect masters of Christianity.
And therefore, as the apostles, in their as-
sembly, (Acts XV.) determined the contro-
versy concerning the circumcision, and pro-
posed to the faithful what was the doctrine
of Christ, in that point, of necessity to be
believed, of which, till that decision, there
had been raised several questions and doubts
that are now no longer to be questioned,
without the shipwreck of faith; so to all
succeeding ages the elders of the Church,
to whom the apostles left the commission
of watching over the flock, in their councils
have never scrupled to determine all such
points as were controverted among Chris-
tians, and to propose to them what of neces-
sity they were to believe for the future,
with anathema pronounced against all such
as should presume to preach the contrary.
Thus in the year 325, the first Niccnc
10

110 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

Council declared tlie Son of God to be con-
substantial to his father, against the Arians;
with an obligation on all to assent to this
doctrine, though they till then never pro-
posed or declared in this form. Thus in
the first Ephesian Council, anno 431, Nes-
torius was condemned, who maintained two
persons in Christ, and that the blessed Vir-
gin was not mother of God; with a declara-
tion that both these his tenets were contrary
to the Catholic Faith. Thus in the second
Nicene Council, anno 787, iniage- breakers
were anathem.atized. Thus in the great
Council of Lateran, anno 1215, transub-
stantiation was declared; the sufficiency of
communion in one kind, in the Council of
Constance; purgatory in the Council of Flo-
rence; and all these, together with the sa-
crifice of the ]\Iass, the invocation of Saints,
6;:c. in the Council of Trent, ogainst Luther,
Calvin, &c. Now, though in all these and
the other general councils, the persons con-
demned took occasion, from these new de-
clarations, ta cry out ''Novelties, novelties,"
to fright the people with the noise of new
coined articles, and that the inventions of
men were imposed upon them for faith; ^et
it is evident that these declarations contain-
ed nothing but the ancient faith; and that
there would never have been any such de-
clarations madcy had not the ancient doc-
trine proposed to them been opposed and

AND REPRESENTED. Ill

contradicted by some seducing spirits, who
going out from the flock, endeavoured by
making divisions, to draw numbers after
them. So that the new proposal of a tenet
is but a fallacious proof of the doctrine be-
ing lately invented, but a good argument of
its being lately opposed. It is certain from
scripture, (Acts xv.) that the apostles had
never declared the non-necessity of circum
cision, had not certain men come down from
Judea, and taught the brethren the contrary.
And that the consubstantiality of the Son
had never been defined by any of the Ni-
cene fathers, had not Arius with his fol-
lowers opposed this Catholic doctrine. And
as certain it is the Council of Trent had
been altogether silent as to transubstantio.-
tion, praying to saints, &c. had not Luther,
Calvin, and their disciples, once professors
of this doctrine, gone out from the flock,
and upon the presumption of a new light,
endeavoured to persuade the faithful that
these tenets, then believed by the whole
Christian world, were no longer to be own-
ed, but to be thrown quite aside as unchris-
tian and diabolical. It was this obliged the
pastors to watch and take care of their flock,
and therefore not flying away as the hire-
ling does when the wolf catchcth and scat-
tereth the sheep, they assembled together
in a body,, and declared to all under their
charge, that they ought not to follow strau-

112 A PAPIST MISREPRESENTED

gers; and however these came pretending
to the shepherd's voice, yet since they came
not by the door into the sheepfold, but
climbed up some otlier way, they were not
shepherds, but thieves and robbers; such
whose business was not to feed, but to steal
kill, and destroy. It was this made them
encourge all under their care not to waver
but to stand fast and hold the profession of
of their faith; and notwithstanding all pre-
tences, by no means to suffer themselves to
be deluded and led away with strange doc-
trine; and that they might the better secure
them from falling into errors, they gave
them a draft of their Christian doctrines,
especially of all those points which these mo-
dern self commissioned apostles did preach
against and endeavour to undermine; parti-
cularly declaring to them the faith they had
been brought up in, which they had received
from their forefathers, and which had been
derived even down from the apostles — as-
suring them that whatsoever was contrary
to this was novelty and error. And now,
in the pastors declaring this to the faithful
where was the innovation? The council
did nothing but propose fully and explicitly
what, before their meeting, was the doc-
trine of all Christendom, and had been so
amongst the primitive fathers. It was they
made the innovation, who preached contrary
to the doctrine thus believed and received,

AND REPRESENTED. llS

wliich Luther was not ashamed to own him-
self guilty of, plainly acknowledging that he
had separated himself from the whole world.
But it seems that the whole world was
then corrupted, and that the religion every
where professed was overgrown with super-
stitions, errors, and abominations, such as
had crept into the Church, some five hun-
dred years before, some nine hundred, and
some a thousand ; and it was from these Lu-
ther separated, intending to reform Chris-
tianity, and bring it to the purity of the pri-
mitive times, of the first tliree hundred years.
Now, was it not strange that so many gross
fooleries, wicked superstitions, — and even
downright idolatry, should creep into tho
Church, and spreading itself through all
nations, infect the whole world, becoming
the public profession of Christendom for so
many hundred years, and be confirmed and
established by thr laws of every kingdom;
and that nobody should take notice of such
a change, either at its first rise, or in all its
progress of so many ages, — insomuch that
had not Luther made the discovery, it is
likely we should never have come to the
knowledge of these thousand years of er-
rors and corruptions? Surely no thinking
man can judge it possible that the very fun-
damentals of Christianity should be shaken,
and the religion planted by the apostles
turned into idolatry, and yet that no le^rn-
10*

ir4 A. PAPIST MISRErRESENTED'

ed man should any where appear to con
tradict these abominations, no zealous pas-
tors to withstand them, no pious princes
to oppose them. History sufficiently satis-
fies any curious reader, that from the first
planting of the Church, there has not been
in any age any man yet that has preached
any heterodox and erroneous tenets, and by
introducing novelties has endeavoured to
infect the minds of the faithful with her-
esy and superstition, but immediately there
have stood up virtuous and learned men in
defence of the truth, in their writings and
sermons publicly confuting and condemn-
ing the errors, and giving an alarm to the
world to beware of such deceivers and their
wicked doctrine; and withal, never omit-
ting to record their names to posterity,
with an account of the time when they
began to preach, under what emperors,
and what v/as the occasion of their revolt.
Was not all this, and even more, done against
Arius? How many appeared against the
Manichees? How many against the Do-
uatists, against the Novatians, against the
Macedonians, the Nestorians, the Eutychi-
ans, the Pelagians, the Berengarians? So
that never any thing had made so much
noise in the world, so many commotions,
so many disturbances — nothing has been so
iinpossible to be carried on with secresy
' and silence, as the broaching any new her-

AND REPRESENTED. 115

esy, or making a schism by the alteration
of religion, or the starting up of some new
society and pretenders to reformation. —
What tumults did the forementioned secta-
ries raise in preaching their new gospel?
What stirs and commotions ensued at the
reformation of church and faith, pretended
by Luther, Zuinglius, and Calvin? How
then can it be judged in the least probable,
that a great variety of erroneous tenets and
unchristian doctrines should be introduced
by the Papists, contrary to the sense and be-
lief of all Christianity, either in the fourth,
fifth, sixth, or tenth century, and yet that
there should not be the least disturbance
occasioned by it, no tumult or opposition;
but all done with so much quietness — in
such profound peace and silence, — that had
it not been for the news brought some ages
after, we had never suspected the alteration?
And is this possible? — Is it possible that the
whole Christian world should change their
religion, both as to its internal belief and
external profession and. exercise, and no-
body be sensible of the change, so as to
withstand the abomination, or to transmit
to posterity even so much as the least word
of its beginning or propagation? Let any
man upon some consideration tell me whe-
ther it be possible that this one little king-
dom of England should fall from the pure
apostolical doctrine it now professes, inta

116 A PAPIST MISREPRESEKTED

downright Popery, or any way alter the
whole scheme of its religion, and have the
alteration confirmed by several acts of par-
liament, and continue in the public exercise
of it for 1000, 600, or even 100 years, and
yet no one in the kingdom, or out of it,
should be sensible of the alteration, but all
to be managed with such policy and craft
that the whole business should remain se-
cret for many ages? And if this be scarce
to be thought possible of this kingdom, —
what can be imagined when it is affirmed
of many nations, of the whole Christian
world? Can any thing look more like a
fable or romance? Or can any rational
man, barely upon such a report, condemn
the faith and religion of his ancestors, for
novelty and human inventions; and quite
laying aside this, take the man for the rule
of his reformation, who thus, without rea-
son, justice or truth, has thrown such in-
famy upon all the Christians preceding him
for a thousand years.

But not to insist upon these reasonings
for the wiping off the scandal of novelty
from the doctrine of the Church of Rome,
it would not be amiss here to look beyond
the tenth century, as also beyond the time
of Pope Gregory. And if in those earlier
Christians nothing can be found of that
faith and profession which are charged as
.^oyelties and errors against the Church of

AND EEPRESENTED. 117

Rome, all the Papists in the world shall
join with their adversaries, and condemning
Pope Gregory for a seducer, and all the
tenth age as ignoramuses, shall in one voice
with them cry out against all such doctrine,
— 'Novelty, novelty !- Error, error!' But
if, on the contrary, every point thus chal-
lenged of novelty shall appear to have been
the profession of the faithful in the time of
the purity of the gospel; if before Pope
Gregory we find that the invocation of
saints, the real presence, transubstantiation,
purgatory, prayers for the dead, the use of
holy images, relics, the sign of the cross,
i&;c. were the received doctrine and common
practice of Christians in those primitive
times — then shall the Papists remain as
they now do, being of the same faith and
religion with those ancient believers, with-
out any additions or alterations; and all their
adversaries ought in justice to retract their
imputation of novelty to the ancient faith.

In order to this, I intended in this place
to have given the reader a fair prospect of
the doctrine and belief of the fathers, of the
fir&t five hundred years after Christ; but
finding the matter to increase so much be-
yond expectation upon my hands, I have
reserved them for another occasion.* But

* Sec Mr. Gothcr's ** Nubes Teatium," and
** the Faith of Catholics,'^ by Rev. Messrs. Ber-
rin^ton and KirU»

118 A PAPIST MISREPnESENTEU

however, upon confidence of what I am abfe
to produce on this point, I cannot omit to
assure the reader that the chief and most
material points charged upon the Church
of Rome for novelty, the primitive fathers
do so plainly own to have been the faith
and profession of the Church in their days;
and to have been delivered down and taught
as the doctrine of the apostles; that an im*
partial confidence need Hot take much time
to conclude which ai>e the greatest innova-
tors, those that now believe and profess
these tenets and practices, or they who dis-
own and reject them. It is evident that
every point of this doctrine wliich is now-
decried for Popery, and basely stigmatized
with the note of errors introduced of late,
and a modern invention, is by many ages
older than those who are charged with be-
ing the authors of them; that every par-
ticular article laid to the ignorance of the
tenth century, or to the contrivance of Pope
Gregory, are as expressly and clearly own-
ed, and taught some ages before, as they
are now at this day; that those great men
were as downright Papists in these points
as they are now, and that any disturber of
Christianity might have as well defamed
them for believers of novelties and errors,
as we are at this present day. The faith
that they professed then, we profess no%v,
and if any of our doctiines be novelty, it is

AND REPRESENTED. 119

Ti novelty of 1800 years standing,- and who
can question it to be of an older date? If
it was the public belief of the Christian
world in the fourth century, who can be
better witnesses of what was believed be-
fore them in the three first centuries than
they? They tell us that the doctrine they
maintained and delivered is the doctrine of
the Catholic Church, received from their
forefathers, and as it was taught by the
apostles; and we do not find that in any of
these points they were challenged by any
authority, or opposed by the pastors of the
Church, or any writers then living or suc-
ceeding them, but received always with
great veneration; and upon what grounds
can any one challenge them now? Is it
possible that any one now living can give
a better account of what was believed and
practised in the third age, than they that
immediately followed it? Which will be
the more credible witnesses of what was
done in forty-three — those that shall be
•alive fifty years hence, or they that are
not yet to come these thousand years? If
therefore, these holy men declare to us the
doctrine they believed, with an assurance
that it was the faith of the Catholic Church,
so believed by their ancestors, and as they
had received from the apostles and their
successors; do not they deserve better cre-
.dit than lOtliers, vWho coming a thousand

I

120 CONCLITSION.

years after, cry cut against all these seve-
r§il points, that they are nothing but novel-
ty and error? It is evident therefore that
this noise of novelty was nothing but a
stratagem for the introducing of novelties,
and that those that brought infamy upon
these points, by this aspersion, might with
as great applause, and as easily have laid
a scandal upon every other article of the
Christian faith, which they have thought
fit to retain, and have had them all ex-
ploded for novelty; and this has been so far
done already, that even three parts of their
doctrine picked out by the first reformers
for apostolical, and conformable to the word
of God, we have seen in our days clamour-
ed against for novelty, and thrown by with
a general approbation, and as clear an evi-
dence of the charge as ever they laid to
transubstantiation and the supremacy.

THE CONCLUSION.

These are the characters of the Papist
as he is misrepresented* and' as represent-
ed; and as different as the one is from the
other, so different is the Papist as reputed
by his maligners, from the Papist as he is
himself. The one is so absurd and mons-
trous, that it is impossible for any one to
he of that profession without first laying by

CONCLUSION. 12fl

all thoughts of Christianity, and his reason
loo. The other is just contradictory to this,
and without any further apology may be
exposed to the perusal of all prudent and
dispassionate considerers, to examine if
there be any thing in it that deserves the
hatred of any Christian, or if it be not in
every point wholly conformable to the doc-
trine of Christ, and not in tlie least con-
trary to reason. The former is a Papist,
as he is generally apprehended by those
who have a Protestant education; such as
whensoever reflected on, is conceived to
be a perverse, malicious sort of creature,
superstitious, idolatrous, atheistical, cruel,
bloody-minded, barbarous, treacherous, and
so profane and every way inhuman, that
it is in some measure doubted whether he.
be a man or not. The other is a Papist
whose faith is according to the proposal
of the Catholic Church, which by Christ^s
command he is obliged to believe and hear;
and whose whole design in this world is for
obtaining salvation in the next. And is it
not strange, that these two characters, so di-
rectly opposite, so wholly unlike one to the
other that heaven and earth' are not more
unlike, should agree to the same person?
It is certainly a strange piece of injustice,
and yet not at all strange to those who
know, that they that follow Christ shall be
bated by the world; that those who study
11

lis CONCLrSION.

the wisdom of heaven shall have the repute
of fools; and that as many as attend the
Lamb shall be painted in the livery of Sa-
tan; our forefathers were so before us, so
Avere all the primitive Christians, the Apos-
tles, and even the Lamb himself, our Ee-
deemer. Calumny ever followed them, mis-
representation waited upon them — and what
wonder then that infamy was their con-
stant attendant? And now, if the orthodox
Christians have thus in all ages had their
double character — one of justice, exactly
drawn from what they really believed
and practised; the other of malice, copied
from them as misrepresented; it is not at
all strange to find it so in our days, when
calumny, malice, ignorance, dec. are as
► powerful as ever: which though from the
beginning of the world, that is above five
thousand years, they iiave it their chief
business to paint, copy, ^nd misrepresent
things and persons; yet they never did it
with so much injury, so aUogether unlikely,
lis they do now to the Papists, there being
scarce any point of their faith or profession
which they do not either blindly mistake,
or basely disguise. — The Papists believe it
is convenient to pray before holy images,
and give them an inferior or relative re-
spect. These describe the Papists as pray-
ing to images, and worshiping them as
idols. — The Papists believe it is good to

CONCLUSION. 123

desire the prayers of the saints, and honour
them as the friends of God. These paint
out the Papists as believing the saints to be
their redeemers, and adoring them as gods.
— The Papists believe that Christ left a
power in the priests of his Church to ab-
solve all penitent sinners from their offences.
These represent the Papists as believing that
the priests can infallibly forgive all such as
come to confession, whether they repent or
not. — The Papists believe there is power in
the supreme pastor, upon due motives, of
granting indulgences; that is, of releasing
to the faithful such temporal penalties as
remain due to their past sins, already
remitted as to their guilt, on condition they
perform such christian duties as shall be
assigned them, i. e. humble themselves by
fasting, confess their sins with a hearty
repentance, receive worthily, and give alms
to the poor, &c. These make the Papists
believe that the Pope, for a sum of money,
can give them leave to commit what sin
they shall think fit, with a certain pardon
for all crimes already incurred; and that
there can be no danger of damnation to any
that can but make a large present to liome
at his death. — The Papists believe, that, by
the merits of Christ, the good works of a just
man are acceptable to God, and through his
goodness and promise, meritorious of eter-
nal happines:.'. These report, that the Pa-

124 CONCLUSION.

pists believe they can merit heaven by their
own works, without any dependance on
the works of our redemption. — The Papists
worship Christ really present in the sacra-
ment, true God and man. These say they
fall down to, and worship a bit of bread.
Some Papists maintain the deposing power.
These will have it to be an article of their
faith, and that they are obliged to it by
their religion. — Some Papists have been trai-
tors, rebels, conspirators, &c. These make
these villanies to be meritorious among the
Papists, and that it is the doctrine of their
Church. Thus there is scarcely one thing
belonging to their faith and exercise of their
yeligion which is not wronged in the de-
scribing it, and injuriously misrepresented.
But are not the Papists then such as they
are represented? No: they are no more
alike, than the Christians of old were, under
the persecuting Emperors, to what they ap-
peared, when clothed with lions' and bears'
skins they were exposed in the amphithea-
tre to wild beasts, under those borrowed
shapes to provoke their savage opponents
to greater fury; and that they might infal-
libly, and with more rage be torn to pieces.
Let any one but search into the Councils
of the Chureh of Rome, even that of Trent,
than which none can be more Popish ; let
them peruse her Catechisms, that ad Paro-
cJwSj.Qx others set forth for pastors to in-

CONCLUSION. 125

struct their flocks, and for children, youth,
and others, to learn their Christian doc-
trine, of which there is extant a great
variety in English. Let them examine
Veron's Rule of Faith, and that set forth
by Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux. Let them
look into the spiritual books of direction;
those of St. Francis de Sales, the Following
of Christ, the Spiritual Combat, Granada^s
Works, and infinite others of this sort,
which Papists generally keep by them for
their instruction; and then let them freely
declare, whether the Papists are so ill prin-
cipled, either as to their faith or morals,
as they are generally made to appear. A
little diligence of this kind, with a serious
enquiry into their own conversation, their
manner of living and dying, will easily
discover, that that of the Beast with which
they are commonly exposed in public is not
theirs, but only the skin that is thrown
over them. The Papists own that there
are amongst them men of very ill lives,
and that if every corner be narrowly sift-
ed, there may be found great abuses even
of the most sacred things; that some in
great dignities have been highly vicious,
and carried on wicked designs; that some
authors maintain and publish very absurd
opinions, and of ill consequence. But these
things are no part of their religion; they
are the imperfections, indeed, the crimes,.
11*

126 CONCLUSION^.

the scandals of some in their communion:
but such as they are, so far from being
obliged to approve, maintain or imitate,
that they wish with all their heart there
had never been any such thing, and desire-
in these points a thorough reformation.
Though the imprudences, the failings, tlie
extravagancies, the vices, that may be pick-
ed up throughout the whole society of Pa-
pists, are very numerous and great, and
sufficient, if drawn together, for the com-
posing a most deformed antichristian mons-
ter; yet the Popery of the Roman Catholics
is no such monster as it is painted. Those
things which are commonly brought against
them being as much detested by them as by
the persons that lay the charge to their
disfavour; and having no more relation
to them than weeds and tares to the corn
amongst which they grow, or chaff to the
wheat with which it lies mixed in one heap.
A Papist the r fore is no more than he is
above represented ; and whosoever enters
that communion is under no obligation of
believing otherwise than is here specified.
And though in each particular I have cited
no authorities, yet for the true and exact
conformity of the character, I appeal to the
Council of Trent, with which if in any
point it should be found to disagree, I again
promise, upon notice, publicly to own it.
As to the other part, it contains such tenets.

ANATHEMAS. 127

aB ai'e wrongfully charged upon the Pa-
pists; and in as many respects as it is op-
posite to the other character, in so many
it is contrary to the faith of their Church;
and so far they are ready to disown them,
and subscribe to their condemnation. And
though any serious enquirer may be easily
satisfied as to the truth of this, yet for pub-
lic satisfaction, to show that these abomin-
able unchristian doctrines are no part of their
belief, however extravagant some men may
be in their opinions, the Papist acknow-
ledges, that a faith assenting to such tenets
is wholly opposite to the honour of God,
and destructive to the gospel of Christ.
Wherefore, since it is lawful for any Chris-
tian to answer Amen to such anathemas as
are pronounced against things apparently
sinful, the Papists, to show to the world
that they disown the following tenets com-
monly laid at their door, do here oblige
themselves, if the ensuing curses be added
to those appointed to be read on the first
day of Lent, they will seriously and heart-
ily answer Amen to them all.

ANATHEMAS.

r. — Cursed is he who commits idolatry ;.
who prays to images or relics, or worships^
them, for God. R. Amen,

128 AI^ATHEMAS.

II.— Cursed is every goddess worship-
per, who believes the Virgin Mary to be
any more than a creature; who worships
her, or puts his trust in her more than
God, who believes her above her Son, or
that she can in any thing command him.
R. A7ne7i,

111. — Cursed is he who believes the saints
in heaven to be his redeemers; who prays
to them as such; or who gives Code's honour
to them, or to any creature whatsoever.
R. Amen,

IV. — Cursed is he who worships any
breaden god, or makes gods of the empty
elements of bread and wine. R. Amen.

V. — Cursed is he who believes that priests
can forgive sins, whether the sinner repent
or not; or that there is any power on earth
or in heaven that can forgive sins -without
a hearty repentance, and serious purpose
of amendment. R. Amen,

VI. — Cursed is he who believes there is
authority in the Pope, or any other person,
that can give leave to commit sin; or that
for a sum of money can forgive him his
sins. R. Amen.

VII. — Cursed is he who believes, that
independent of the merits and passion of
Christ, he can obtain salvation by his own
good works, or make condign satisfaction
for the guilt of his sins, or the eternal pains
due to them. R. Amen.

Anathemas. i2§

VIII. — Cursed is he who contemns the
word of Gbd, or who hides it from the peo-
ple, in order to keep them from the know-
ledge of their duty, and to preserve them
in ignorance and error. R. Amen,

IX. — Cursed is he who undervalues th^
word of God, or that, forsaking scripture,
chooses rather to follow human traditions
than it. R. Amen.

X. — Cursed is he who leaves the com-
mandments of God to observe the constitu-
tions of men. R. Amen.

XI. — Cursed is he who omits any of the
ten commandments, or keeps the people
from the knowledge of any one of them,
to the end that they may not have occasion
of discovering the truth. R. Amen.

XII. — Cursed is he who preaches to tho
people in unknown tongues, such as they
understand not, or uses any other means to
keep them in ignorance. R. Amen.

XIII. — Cursed is he who believes that
the Pope can give to any, upon ahy occa-
sion whatsoever, dispensations to lie or
swear falsely; or that it is lawful for any
at the last hour to protest himself innocent,
in case he be guilty. R. Amen.

XIV. — Cursed is he who encourages sin,
or teaches men to defer the amendment of
their lives on presumption of a death-bed
repentance. R. A7?ie7i.

XV. — Cursed is he that teaches me A

130 ANATHEMAS. '

that they may be lawfully drunk on a
Friday, or any other fasting day, though
they must not taste the least bit of flesh.
R. Amen,

XVI. — Cursed is he who places religion
in nothing but a pompous show, consisting
only in ceremonies; and which teaches not
the people to serve God in spirit and truth.
R. Amen.

XVII.— Cursed is he who loves or pro-
motes cruelty; that teaches people to be
bloody-minded, and to lay aside the meek-
ness of Jesus Christ. R. Amen,

XVIII. — Cursed is he who teaches it to
be lawful to do any wicked thing, though it
be for the interest and good of Mother
Church; or that any evil action may be
done that good may ensue from it. R.
Amen,

XIX. — Cursed are we, if amongst all
those wicked principles and damnable doc-
trines commonly laid at our doors, any one
of them be the faith of our Church; and
cursed are we if we do not as heartily de-
test all those hellish practices as they that
so vehemently urge them against us. R.
Amen.

XX. — Cursed are wo, if in answering or
saying Amen to any of these curses, we use
any equivocations, or mental reservations;
or do not assent to them in the common and
obvious sense of the words. R. Amen.

ANATHEMAS, 131

And can the Papists then thus seriously
and without check of conscience say Amen
to all these curses? Yes, they can, and are
ready to do so, whensoever and as often as
it shall be required of them. What then
is to be said of those who, either by word
^r writing, charge these doctrines upon the
faith of the Church of Eome? Shall I call
it a lying spirit in the mouths of all their
prophets? I will say no such thing, but
leave it to the judgment of the impartial
considerer. One thing I can safely affirm,
that the tenets of the Papists are as egre-
giously misrepresented, and shewn in pub-
lic as much unlike what they really are, as
were those of the Christians of old under
the slanders of the Gentiles: that they are
shamefully calumniated, and severely suffer
in good name, person, and estate, for prin-
ciples they as much and as heartily detest
as those who lay them to their charge.
But their comfort is — Christ has said to his
followers. Ye shall he hated hy all men^
(Matt. X. 22.) and St. Paul, We are inade a
spectacle unto the world; and can we doubt
but that whosoever suffers with patience,
shall, for every loss and contempt here,
receive a hundred-fold reward in heaven.

THE END,

CONTENTS.

Introduction .

Of Praying to Images

Of Worshiping Saints

Of Praying to the Virgin Mary

Of Relics ...

Of the Eucharist. .

Of Merits and good Works

Of Confession .

Of Indulgences

Of Satisfaction

Of Reading the Holy Scriptures

Of the Scripture as a Rule of Faith

Of the Interpretation of Scripture

Of Tradition .

Of Councils .

Of Infallibilty in the Church

Of the Pope .

Of Dispensations

Of the deposing power .

Of Communion in one kind

Of the Mass .

Of Purgatory .

Of Praying in an Unknown tongue

Of the Second Commandment

Of Mental Reservations .

Of a Death-bed Repentance .

Of Fasting ....

Of Divisions and Schisms in the Church

Of Friars and Nuns

Of Wicked Principles and Practic

Of Miracles ....

Of Holy Water

Of breeding up People in ignorance

Of the Uncharitableness of the Papi

Of Innovations in Matters of Faith

The Conclusion

Anathtmas ....

ists

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